April 30, 2020 at 4:18 p.m.
Rhinelander McDonald's hands out face masks
Provides 'thank you' meals to area first responders
Rhinelander McDonald's hands out face masks
It has also become a source of comfort food as the area continues to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak and the resulting restrictions.
On April 10, the Oneida County Health Department announced that an employee of the Rhinelander restaurant had tested positive for COVID-19, necessitating a temporary closure so the store could be sanitized.
Following this experience, the company, led by father and son Steve Kilian Sr. and Jr., wanted to do something to thank the community for their support over the years. On April 25, the restaurant handed out non-medical grade masks to the first 1,000 drive-thru customers while raising money for the Rhinelander Area Food Pantry with a special on hotcakes and Happy Meals. The food pantry received 20 percent of the total sales for that day. The amount raised was $1,026, according to the Kilians
"We wanted to do something for the community, and we wanted to do something that was unique and something that was in high demand," Kilian Sr. said in a recent phone interview.
The event was well received by the customers, he noted.
"It was a combination of things that we did on Saturday, with the donation to the food pantry, it was the masks and some aggressive promoting of some food items," he said. "And it brought a lot of people in."
While McDonald's pioneered the drive-thru concept in the quick service food industry, Kilian Sr. said that going to a drive-thru only system during the COVID-19 pandemic has not been without its challenges.
"It's hurt business dramatically," Kilian Sr. said. "Look around, people aren't going to work, they aren't out late at night, people aren't stopping on their way to work to get breakfast. Business has been pretty dramatically affected."
Both father and son agreed that McDonald's is seen by a lot of people as a kind of comfort food.
"We're what everybody knows, we like that and we're really proud of that," Kilian Sr. said. "But we're also very convenient because we do have our drive-thrus. But the inside part of the business is vital to our business as well. So obviously, we're anxious to have that open back up."
Kilian Jr. noted that McDonald's has some of the most rigorous standards of cleanliness in the industry.
"I think the customers recognize that and that's why we've been around so long," he said. "Customers know that when they come to McDonald's they are going to be in a clean, safe environment to be in."
Kilian Sr. said that they have implemented some "important changes" as to how the restaurant operates in an effort to better protect both their customers and employees. Before being allowed to clock in for their shift, employees are now asked a series of health questions, and as soon as a modern thermometer can be obtained, they will also have their temperatures checked.
"The reason we weren't doing it earlier is because there is a shortage of the right kind of thermometers," Kilian Jr. said. "The digital (kind) where you just put it on a person's forehead."
"We also now require masks of all of our employees at all times when they're working," Kilian Sr. added. "We've always worn gloves in our kitchen, but now we also require gloves on our service people as well."
While there has been some pushback against Gov. Tony Evers' Safer at Home restrictions, the Kilians are not in a rush to reopen their dining room.
"If he (Evers) loosens the restrictions, if we don't think we can provide a safe environment, we won't open the dining room. We don't want to be the cause of this spreading any further," Kilian Sr. said. "We are not going to expose our customers to any unnecessary risks, regardless of what the government does."
The Kilians noted that the employee who tested positive for COVID-19, and 27 people employees who came into contact with that individual, were paid while in isolation.
"We're proud of this," Kilian Sr. said. "They continued to get paid what they would have earned during the entire quarantine process."
He also said all current employees will receive a retroactive bonus to when the restrictions started as a way to show how much their efforts are appreciated.
"We're very proud of what they (workers) are doing and they are very proud of what they are doing as well," Kilian Sr. said.
Prior to the reopening, the restaurant was sanitized by a crew Kilian Management had set up that used both the Centers for Disease Control guidelines, as well as the more stringent McDonald's protocol to get the restaurant ready to reopen in 24 hours, the Kilians said.
"We set it up so if there ever was a positive case, the crew was trained in advance and they came to sanitize the store before we reopened it." Kilian Sr. said.
Kilian Sr. said the McDonald's company was "very helpful" throughout the entire coronavirus pandemic.
"They have resources beyond what we have available to us, so we are constantly receiving information from them, additional training because everyday things change," he said. "And everyday they update us on what the changes are."
An example of such a change was when corporate recommended that service workers start wearing gloves like those workers in the kitchen have been doing.
"It was considered a better sanitation practice to just keep washing your hands," Kilian Sr. said. "Because having gloves on sometimes gives you a false sense of security because if you use gloves improperly, it can be worse than washing your hands. But now we've changed, we use a combination of changing gloves and washing our hands for the service people."
He is convinced that seeing the person handing your food out the drive-thru window wearing gloves is reassuring to customers.
McDonald's has also been handing out free "thank you" meals to first responders and hospital workers. This program was introduced on April 22 and is scheduled to run through May 5.
In Rhinelander alone "well over 100" meals have been distributed, they noted.
To get a free meal, an eligible first responder or medical worker must show their badge at the drive-thru window. Since they acquired the Rhinelander store in September 2000, the Kilians have been active in the community through membership in the Rhinelander Area Chamber of Commerce, sponsored many area events such as the Hodag Country Festival, Hodag Sports Club and the Fourth of July parade. They have also been generous in their donations to area non-profits, churches and schools during fundraisers.
Jamie Taylor may be reached via email [email protected].
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