"The old McDonald's represents a standardized, homogenized brand that made money because it could count on people buying into the comfort of predictable sameness and un-exotic comfort food," Soper said.

"You see now that the consumers are expecting more from (their restaurants). ... Now you can represent your own individuality while you're participating in this mass sameness. (It gives) the sense that you're hiply participating in your new choice that makes you independent of your old homogenized fast food."

On the other hand, while the new restaurant looks nice, for Saratoga Springs city officials, the presence of a McDonald's in the town of 15,000 people is even better.

With more than 31,000 locally owned businesses worldwide and about 50 million customers a day, McDonald's has earned a reputation for stability that is good karma for small towns that are looking to build their business base.

"I think other businesses will see (McDonald's) as the leader in terms of taking a chance to establish themselves in our city," Mayor Timothy Parker said. "I think it will have a beneficial effect on future businesses coming in. ... (It's a) signal to other businesses that this is a safe decision to make, and I take comfort in that."

The restaurant, no matter how different it looks, is also a beacon of familiarity to travelers who are hurrying through an unfamiliar area.

Bill Rietz from Walla Walla, Wash., stopped into the McDonald's on the corner of state Route 73 and Redwood Road for a hot drink while visiting his daughter in Saratoga Springs. Walla Walla has two McDonald's now, but Rietz says he can remember the town before the restaurant came, when it was mostly farmland.

Economically, Rietz said, the McDonald's was a good thing to come to town.

"I think it means a lot to a community to have a franchise available," he said. "If you don't know the community, then you can rely on the franchise. It's consistent."

McFacts

• The first McDonald's franchised restaurant opened in 1955 in Des Plaines, Ill.

• The company's first local TV commercial aired in 1963

• The first drive-thru opened in Sierra Vista, Ariz., in 1975

• McDonald's largest market outside of the United States is Japan, with 3,700 McDonald's restaurants.

• McDonald's is the leading purchaser of apples in the U.S. restaurant industry.

• McDonald's opened in its 100th country, Belarus, in December 1996.

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E-mail: achoate@desnews.com