Fast food giant McDonald's looking to open up in Aviemore

A first McDonald's restaurant could open in the strath with the world's biggest fast food chain confirming it is looking at a site in Aviemore.

The corporate giant has more than 1,450 restaurants across the UK and Ireland and employs over 135,000 people, but the nearest outlet for those in Badenoch and Strathspey remains in Inverness.

Now the company has confirmed that it is looking to open in the strath – a move that will likely divide opinion of local residents.

A McDonald's spokesperson said: "We can confirm that we’re looking at a particular site in Aviemore.

"However, we’re so early in the process that we’re not in a position to offer any more detail at this time."

It is not known if the company plans to build its own premises – sit-in or drive-through – on a new site or whether it is looking to buy or lease an existing unit, but locals are already making suggestions of their own.

High on their list of potential sites is the former Superdrug store in the retail park on Santa Claus Drive.

It has been vacant since the store closed suddenly in January, after five years.

Aviemore did have a Subway unit on Grampian Road and there is also a Costa Coffee on the village's retail park and briefly a Chick-fil-A restaurant at the Macdonald Aviemore Resort but on the whole the big fast food names have steered clear of the strath.

Burger King did look at moving into Aviemore in the early 2000s with plans for a drive-in at the south end of the village but the plans never transpired.

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