Seattle's new McDonald's ignites hope for downtown revival despite crime concerns

SEATTLE — A grand opening of a new McDonald's location is shedding light on the future of Seattle.

With businesses in downtown Seattle shutting down because of crime, KOMO News spoke with city leaders about what’s being done to help more businesses survive.

Seattle Police Department (SPD) Chief Adrian Diaz came to see the new McDonald's, which opened in a long vacant space at KOMO Plaza, directly across the street from the Seattle Space Needle.

Diaz said city leaders want to focus on the revitalization of downtown Seattle and bringing businesses back, especially near Pike Place Market, where they face issues with drugs, crime, and businesses leaving because of it.

“It’s so important for businesses to come back to the city. We know that downtown has had its challenges over the last several years, but to see businesses open up is so important," said Diaz.

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Other city leaders, including councilmember Tanya Woo, were in attendance. With the opening, Woo said this is a step forward in bringing in more people to the area.

“Especially in this area where most of the people are tourists, people are in the downtown corridor, it’s really helpful in terms of revitalization overall," said Woo.

With the new location and more people in the area, KOMO News is asking city leaders how they plan on keeping people safe, especially with other areas in downtown Seattle like Pike and Pine that have had issues with open drug use and crime.

The new McDonald's location is open 24/7, bringing the question of what will be done about public safety.

“We have bike officers, we have some of our patrol officers, they’re spending time and emphasis on 3rd and Pine to invigorate the area. This is also part of that downtown corridor that people use to get access to the Space Needle, so we want to make sure that we’re focusing on our public safety efforts," said Diaz.

Officials are hoping this will bring in more businesses to the area and more foot traffic to strengthen the economy in the city.

KOMO News also spoke with the owner of this McDonald's, who also owns 19 other locations in the city, about crime. He said he's aware that being in the heart of the city meant there is potential for crime and safety issues to pop up, but adds they're making sure their staff is trained and prepared to handle any situation.

“Our best precaution is the training of our people. They’re trained to serve our customers serve them well but stay safe," said David Santillanes, McDonald’s owner-operator.