De Silvia-Legault: How 99 Rideau — once the 'World's Worst McDonald's' — can exploit its history

Capitalizing on the property’s notorious past could be good for the new tenant’s business future.

Published Feb 07, 2024 • Last updated 3 hours ago • 3 minute read

A farewell march in honour of the Rideau Street McDonald’s restaurant took place March 19, 2023, led by Keith de Silvia-Legault (dressed as Ronald McDonald) to raise funds for several charitable causes. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia

Last year saw the end of an era for one of Ottawa’s most well-known, albeit controversial, local landmarks: 99 Rideau St.

Due to the closure of the infamous Rideau McDonald’s, the retail-restaurant space there has remained empty for the past seven months. Now, a new tenant has signed a lease. 99 Rideau will soon be the site of a brand new Asian cuisine restaurant.

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Will the site have a clean, new start? Or will it forever be haunted by the memory of the McDonald’s that came before?

For those who haven’t heard the tale, let me enlighten you. Since 1985, 99 Rideau has been the site of what many dubbed the “World’s Worst McDonald’s.” In 2019, the restaurant was forced to reduce its hours of operation due to “numerous complaints.” At the peak of these activities, police received close to 900 calls a year in regards to 99 Rideau.

But the restaurant’s main claim to “stardom” was a 2014 viral video in which, during a brawl, a man in a trenchcoat pulled out a baby raccoon. From that point on, the title of “World’s Worst McDonald’s” just stuck.

Suddenly, 99 Rideau became a strange source of pride in a city otherwise known as being quite boring.

And so began the bizarre status of 99 Rideau.

The Rideau McDonald’s was not only a conversation starter for interpersonal communication but for journalistic conversation as well.

Ever googled what the world’s worst McDonald’s is? You’ll find pages upon pages of headlines from more than 25 major publications citing Rideau’s very own as the worst. Love it or hate it, there’s one thing we must admit; there was worldwide curiosity about a McDonald’s hailed as the world’s worst.

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I have been a professional fundraiser for more than two years. I enjoy raising money for local causes; it’s fun and rewarding. When I heard about the closure, I smelled an opportunity. Which is why last year, I sat my friends down at a bar and proceeded to plan the Rideau McDonald’s Farewell March.

My hope was that we could utilize 99 Rideau’s unprecedented publicity to do some good for the community. The march acted as a fundraiser for Operation Come Home, Voice Found, and as a food drive for the Shepherds of Good Hope.

Remarkably, it was quite easy to “hijack” 99 Rideau’s publicity for our own objectives. We made an instagram account and put posters up throughout the downtown — and all of a sudden I was doing radio shows.

Even though the march took place on one of the coldest days of the year, we still had roughly 200 marchers. I held a makeshift press conference with roughly 15 journalists from various publications while I dressed as Ronald McDonald.

Frequently I’d be asked for my hopes regarding the future of 99 Rideau and I still stand by my answer: anything but empty. The cherry on top? A small business will now occupy the space, rather than a multinational conglomerate.

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I think my experience of capitalizing on 99 Rideau’s publicity is a good sign for 99 Rideau’s heir. If this new tenant is smart, and doesn’t attempt to hide from the memory of its predecessor — but rather, embraces it — 99 Rideau could have a bright future.

After all, it’s a central location in the heart of downtown. Pair that with the publicity and it could be a match made in heaven for a new business.

After all, any publicity is good publicity.

Keith de Silvia-Legault is the former head organizer of the Rideau McDonalds Farewell March and is currently the opinions editor of The Fulcrum, uOttawas English-language student newspaper.

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