Skokie McDonald’s will be rebuilt with double drive-thru, sustainability features and more

A McDonald’s located in southern Skokie will soon be replaced with an updated version of the fast-food restaurant that will include a double-lane drive-through to reportedly improve the restaurant’s traffic flow. 

The Skokie Village Board voted unanimously on Monday during its first meeting of the new year to approve a new site plan and special-use permit for the McDonald’s that has operated at 5360 Touhy Ave. since 1984. 

The improved drive-through configuration will allow the McDonald’s to accommodate 20 cars during its peak pick-up hours, as opposed to the 13 cars it can currently hold in its outside queue, according to analysis from Skokie staff. 

“The Side-By-Side Drive Thru with dual-lane entry eases queuing by allowing two cars to stack next to each other and order simultaneously. The results include a decrease in overall customer wait time, vehicle idling time, and car stacking length,” a project narrative from McDonald’s says.

The narrative continues: “Side-By-Side Drive Thru’s promote better traffic flow as cars do not stack beyond the Drive Thru and block lot circulation. This leads to a site that is safe for general traffic, has better utilization of parking stalls, and reduces opportunities for accidents.” 

The redesigned McDonald’s will also remove one of its two access lanes on Niles Center Road, allow for an expansion to its “digital operations,” and include sustainability enhancements like on-site solar panels and “low-carbon construction materials,” village documents show. 

The latter measures align with the Skokie’s sustainability goals as the building aims for a zero carbon certification, resulting in 40% less operational carbon and 20% less “embodied carbon,” documents from the village’s plan commission show. 

Parking will be reduced from 52 spaces to 43 in part to allow for new drive-through lanes, and the remaining access lane on Niles Center Road will change to allow for left-turns. Overall, the direction of traffic at the site will remain the same.

McDonald’s project narrative states it has 150 million active uses in any 90-day time frame and testing with its new drive-through system has “shown significant improvements in total experience times as the percentage of mobile orders in the Drive Thru increases.”

The single-story McDonald’s site covers 57,262 square feet and sits within walking distance of Laramie Park, nearby shopping districts and residential streets. 

The Village Board approved the site plan for the new McDonald’s with no discussion on Monday, Jan. 5. Trustee Alison Pure Slovin was absent. The Skokie Plan Commission unanimously gave its recommendation to the proposed rebuild on May 15, 2025.

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