Friday March 6th 2026
McDonald's in Galashiels reopening
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Paul Kelly
With a proposed new McDonald’s drive thru outlet awaiting the verdict of Borders’ planners the company’s first fast food outlet in the region is back on the menu after undergoing a £1m facelift.
The Galashiels restaurant at Wilderhaugh, which is owned and operated by local franchisee Graham Angus, has reopened following a ‘Convenience of the Future’ redesign delivered a better customer experience.
With consumers increasingly looking for greater speed, efficiency and choice when ordering their food, McDonald’s ambitious revamp programme combines a new restaurant layout with the latest technology to create “a more seamless and enjoyable experience for customers”.
Improvements have also been made for restaurant crew with a redesign of the crew room creating a more relaxing and comfortable space for them to take a well-deserved break.
Mr Angus, who also owns and operates McDonald’s restaurants across Edinburgh, said: “I’m proud to re-invest in our Galashiels restaurant.
“The dining area is more contemporary, and we now have separate facilities for our dine-in customers.
“It’s exciting to see the fresh new look and feel of our Galashiels restaurant and I’m confident the changes will not only benefit our customers but also our restaurant team as these will help make their jobs a little easier.”
While the traditional walk-in and drive thru remain core to how customers order, the redesign of McDonald’s kitchen and dining areas brings better integrate digital sales’ channels, the McDonald’s App and makes smarter use of internal space to enhance the dine-in experience.
With dedicated areas for the different ways to order food, along with the removal of the front counter, the revamp offers a more efficient way to order and leaves customers with an enlarged space to enjoy their meal.
A planning application for a new £4m McDonald’s on Commercial Road in Hawick is currently on Scottish Borders Council’s agenda.
It is expected to create more than 100 jobs if endorsed.
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