parkdale McDonald's toronto

Golden arches burn to a crisp outside infamous Toronto McDonald's

The notoriously wild McDonald's location at King and Dufferin Streets in Toronto is looking a bit worse for wear today — like, even more so than usual — after losing a big ol' chunk of its flagship sign to fire.

Behold, a perfect visual metaphor for the impending gentrification of this most controversial corner:

mcdonalds parkdaleNeighbours of the soon-to-be-demolished fast food restaurant in  eastern Parkdale first noticed how crispy the golden arches above its King Street entrance looked on Thursday morning.

"Nooooo this is like our Hollywood sign, who dared besmirch the gates to our kingdom!" reads the caption of a photo shared by the popular Instagram account Parkdale Life.

"Must have been a pissed off customer from that location... in which case, the suspects are endless," replied one commenter.

"The sign was vandalized last night," wrote another. "Assuming the ice cream machine was down."

Others surmised that the McDonald's, which recently installed blue lights in its bathrooms to deter intravenous drug use, had closed.

stay away signThe closure theory makes sense given that a massive condo development is slated for the site — the same development that earlier this week forced the closure of Island Foods across the street.

It's not true, however, according to the store's owner. Neither are any vandalism rumours.

"Earlier this morning, my restaurant's outdoor sign on King St. W was unfortunately damaged due to a minor electrical problem," says McDonald's franchisee Albert Crimi.

"I am thankful that no one was hurt. I'm working closely with Toronto Fire Services, who confirmed that the restaurant is safe, and we are happy to be welcoming our guests as usual."

Caution tape still surrounds the signpost on King as of Thursday afternoon, but it doesn't seem to be deterring anyone from going inside to line up for cheap soft serve.

Photos by

Lauren O'Neil


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in Eat & Drink

Google removes thousands of positive reviews from New Ho King restaurant

Loblaws-owned grocery store in Toronto becoming a No Frills this month

Loblaw boycotters say they were offered 60K points after trying to cancel PC Optimum

Group facing over 300 charges for allegedly robbing 45 LCBO stores

Most Canadians want to ditch tipping and pay for higher service wages

Chocolate prices are going up in Toronto due to skyrocketing costs

Toronto bakery gets one-star review from customer for closing during power outage

Canadian government accused of giving $25M to 'Galen Weston and the grocery cartel'