Ottawa's notorious Rideau Street McDonald's closing permanently
CTV
The McDonald's restaurant on Rideau Street is set to close when its lease runs out in April, after nearly 40 years of operations in the downtown Ottawa tourist area.
The infamous McDonald's restaurant on Rideau Street in downtown Ottawa is closing its doors this spring.
The property owner tells CTV News Ottawa the franchise owner decided not to renew the lease and the restaurant will close in April. The space will be available for lease starting in July.
"We knew that they may not be there; it wasn't a big surprise," Peter Crosthwaite, asset manager at 60 George St., told CTV News Ottawa. The restaurant opened in 1985.
"They are a pretty dynamic organization, they have the right to look at different spots and maybe they felt the time was right," Crosthwaite said. "But there’s maybe things that made it seem more right than usual."
The restaurant in the heart of Ottawa's tourist district became a notorious spot for late night crowds after last call at bars and restaurants. The McDonald's gained particular notoriety following the release of a video filmed in December 2013 showing a man pull a baby raccoon out of his sweater while others were involved in a fight.
In 2019, then-Ottawa Police Chief Charles Bordeleau sent a letter to the President and CEO of McDonald's Canada to raise concerns about "ongoing criminal activity and social disorder" at the Rideau Street location. McDonald's then reduced its hours of operation to 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. following a meeting with police. It had been open for 24 hours a day.
Ottawa police say they were called to the restaurant more than 150 times in 2022, significantly lower than the more than 800 calls for service in 2018 that prompted the location to change its hours.
