McDonald’s is celebrating 25 years in Waterford city with a state-of-the-art digital makeover for its restaurants on Cork Road and Barronstrand Street.

The restaurants are owned and operated by local businessman Joe Byrne, Ireland’s longest serving McDonald’s franchisee.

A fixture in the local community, McDonald’s employs 150 people across both restaurants.

Two employees at the Cork Road restaurant have worked there since the very start, with several others being a part of the restaurant for 20 years.

Joe and McDonald’s Waterford provides strong support to local charities in Waterford such as Children’s Grouplink, Solas Cancer Support Centre and Pieta House.

For the past 11 years Joe has organised an annual cycle with the Waterford Rotary Club to raise funds for Ronald McDonald House Charities. He has also provided sponsorship to a wide range of sporting organisations in the area such as Waterford FC, Gaultier GAA Club, Waterford RFU and Waterpark RFU.

Over the course of his 25 years as a franchisee, Joe has grown the business through several expansions and refurbishments.

With this latest refurbishment, the two restaurants will now feature a host of new digital facilities, all designed with changing customer needs in mind. This includes, table service, an indoor kids digital play table with Samsung Galaxy tablets and touch screen self-order kiosks which will deliver a more customised and efficient service for customers.

New technology also extends through to the kitchen, adapting how the food is prepared and served so that products are made specially to order, using freshly prepared ingredients.

Speaking about McDonald’s 25 years in Waterford Joe Byrne said, “We are very proud of how we have grown within the community here in Waterford. 25 years in business is a great achievement and being able to bring more jobs into the area as well as strengthen relationships within the community is incredibly rewarding. And with this latest refurbishment, our customers can access the best family-friendly facilities and services on offer.”