Updated: Crime-Ridden McDonald’s in Downtown Houston Demolished

One of the worst McDonald's I've ever been in is closing – finally.

Photo: Reddit Houston u/lolunix, via
houstonarchitecture.com

I've been in a lot of creepy, downright frightening Mickey Dees in my life, but none compared in my experience with this one. It was the worst in Houston, and just might have been the worst McDonald's in the nation.

The building was finally demolished on Wednesday, Feb. 8. Nobody will miss it:

“We’ve seen a lot of crazy things go down here," [a local man] said. "Daily drug deals, we’ve seen guys getting beat up, guys getting their money stolen. It’s a really difficult place. This whole area downtown is not the place you want to be." KHOU-11, 2023/02/08 

Yes, I've been there. Once, in June 2013. It's located at 2017 Main Street, Houston, right across from a Greyhound Bus station that's almost as scary. I took three steps in and immediately realized I'd just passed into a post-apocalyptic dystopian nightmare. The huge, armed security guard just inside the front door, a large black man, gave me a look that told me, a 57-year-old white dude, to leave now while you still can. I nodded a thank you and took his advice.

A report on January 20, 2023 by LocalToday.news summed it up: 

The infamous arches at Block 2000 of Main Street, next to the downtown Greyhound bus stop, were torn down during the winter break.

The restaurant has been around for decades. The earliest mention in the Chronicle was on February 4, 1989, when Susan Warren reported that a nasty cold front was making rescue workers nervous. Although warm shelters were set up, half a dozen homeless people had settled under the Pierce Elevated.

“Most people camping in the area sought — at least for the day — a warm haven at restaurants and the nearby bus station, said an employee at the McDonald’s restaurant next door. The clerk said campers would no doubt be returning after dark to spend the night under the freeway, lighting fires in barrels and old grill pits to keep them warm.”

When I was there 10 years ago, I was struck by the sight of several people passed out on the sidewalk across the street, by the bus station. As I walked out of the station, I was warned by an elderly man washing taxi windshields to keep moving for my own safety. 

Houston Historic Retail said this on January 6: 

Situated just between the Greyhound Bus Station and the Pierce Elevated section of I-45, this McDonald’s has seen it all. From robberies to homicides, from poor service to “traveling salesmen,” this store has seen just about everything. This situation became so bad that about a year ago, McDonald’s ended up closing off the dining room entirely and adding a makeshift security door with a window to allow for walk-up customers.  

A tweet from 2018: 

#BREAKING Woman shot, second person injured after witnesses say an upset customer started shooting outside a downtown McDonalds. #khou11 pic.twitter.com/N6uvWT3u1t

— Brett Buffington (@BrettWSAV) August 24, 2018

Localtoday.news also noted that, "Commenters on two different Reddit threads were quick to point out the location’s far from stellar reputation, including some of its nicknames: Crackdonalds, McStabby, and Chaos McDonald’s, for example."

See more Reddit posts about this McDonald's.