Sinopec and McDonald’s Partner on Drive-Thru Restaurant and Gas Station Complex in Beijing
22 January 2007
China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) and McDonald’s China have opened their first collaborative Drive-Thru restaurant and gas station complex in Beijing. The two companies formed a strategic alliance last June.
The Drive-Thru restaurant—McDonald’s 16th in China, but the first in partnership with Sinopec—is situated in Sinopec’s Shahedong gas station in Changping District, Beijing. Collaboratively designed and developed by Sinopec and McDonald’s, the Drive-Thru restaurants in Sinopec gas stations represent “a whole new service model” for customers, according to the partners.
Sinopec owns more than 30,000 gas stations in China—the largest work and the most market coverage in the country. The first combined gas station-restaurants will be opened in large and medium cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Wuhan, Chengdu, Shenzhen and Dongguan.
McDonald’s opened its first Drive-Thru restaurant in China in November 2005 in the central business district of Dongguan, Guangdong Province. The company has opened more than 1,000 Drive-Thru restaurants in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan.
One of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s “Drive Wise” tips to reduce fuel consumption and emissions, is to:
Avoid waiting in long drive-thru lines, for example, at fast-food restaurants...
Now you can get two kinds of gas at the same time. Is this a form of biofuel?
Posted by: Neil | 22 January 2007 at 10:43 AM
They plan to kill them all - Sinopec with gas emissions and McDonald's with their food...
Posted by: Skrivo | 22 January 2007 at 11:12 AM
This is brilliant!
WVO from McDonalds into biodiesel at the gas station
Posted by: kehughes | 22 January 2007 at 11:28 AM
If the fast-food industry is going to operate drive-thrus, they owe the public an innovation that allows the engine to be stopped during the ever-longer waits in line. For instance, they could build the waiting lane on a slight downhill grade so that drivers can inch forward just by releasing the brake. Or use tire pusher conveyors like automated car washes have. It's going to be many years before everybody has a hybrid.
This is especially unlikely to happen when you have partnerships like this that create a conflict of interest versus the public. Instead, what you're seeing is a repeat of the metastasis of unreformed car culture that we've had in the US. These drive-ins just add to the pressure on the public to be resigned to putting up with the noise, pollution, and other burdens of idling cars, and cars taking over even though they and the system could be greatly improved. You have to defer to the people who are in love with their cars. The results will be far worse for China.
Posted by: P Schager | 22 January 2007 at 12:26 PM
P Schager -
fortunately, not all aspects of Americana catch on overseas. Europeans love their cars just as much as Americans do, but you'll be hard pressed to find any drive-throughs here at all.
Coastal China is also very densely populated, so even though the status-conscious Chinese will emulate just about anything Western at least once, chances are skyrocketing real estate prices will simply render this most American of business models infeasible before long.
Besides, why on Earth would anyone settle for a ghastly cheeseburger, greasy fries, synthetic ketchup and a megagulp of sugary water when they can enjoy dim sum?
Posted by: Rafael Seidl | 22 January 2007 at 03:01 PM
Rafael:
Unfortunately to you, all potato, corn, or tomato you probably eat derive from America. And so does turkey meat, fried in grease into famous Vienna schnitzels. Hamburgers your refer to as being “ghastly” is originated from what it is now constitute Germany and Austria, and are folk’s treat at Oktoberfest. Same with famous American hot-dogs. Greasy fries are called “French fries”, and are national feast for example in Belgium. They prefer to eat it with way more greasy and cholesterol-laden mayonnaise than ketchup, which by the way is made from fresh tomatoes and does not contain ANY conservants or preservatives. Most of famous German/Austrian sausages I eat in Vienna were over laden with lard to the degree of disgust. Famous Vienna coffee, which I enjoyed a lot, was way more caffeinated and calorie-rich than super-big Coca-cola served in McDonalds. And by the way, McDonalds (having huge outlets on every corner of Vienna city center) serves any drink, including water, if you desire.
Now, I do not think that you are seriously inclined to discuss issues of healthy diet, or taste short-coming of food served in McDonalds. As I see it, you just can’t resist to bad-mouth anything Amertican, due to popular European way of self-esteem boosting. Just do not do it in such dumb and boorish manner, and do not forget that you do it on American-invented computer by American-invented Internet on the American-run web-site.
Posted by: Andrey | 23 January 2007 at 01:27 AM
Geez Andrey, lighten up. I was comparing American fast food to Chinese dim sum, which isn't even considered fast food. It's called tongue-in-cheek, so perhaps you can unwrap yourself from that flag now.
Posted by: Rafael Seidl | 23 January 2007 at 02:16 AM
Rafael:
I am not American. And I have nothing against Dim Sum. But I do not like “…fortunately, not all aspects of Americana catch on overseas”, and “…why on Earth would anyone settle for a ghastly cheeseburger, greasy fries, synthetic ketchup and a megagulp of sugary water…”
Peace.
Posted by: Andrey | 23 January 2007 at 02:42 AM
Maybe McChina can put a green roof on top (as in Chicago) and everything will be Eco-rosy. Wonder if the Chinese happy meals come with a US made toy (you know in the spirit of free trade)..
Posted by: fyi CO2 | 23 January 2007 at 07:04 AM
Drive thru is amazing facility. Krowd should have this facility on their restaurant. However their login portal is very helpful which is https://krowd.us/
Posted by: robert19 | 03 November 2019 at 09:50 PM