Symbol of Burger Lore Faces Arch Enemy : Pep Boys’ Sign May Put Big Mac on Back Burner

What the Eiffel Tower is to Paris and the Leaning Tower is to Pisa, the Golden Arches are to Downey--home of the world’s oldest McDonald’s stand.

“I moved here six months ago from Ohio, and it was the only landmark I heard of in this area,” Downey resident Terry Phillips remarked Tuesday as he stood in line beneath the yellow, old-style parabolic arches.

But now, the 35-year-old stand’s distinctive signage is the subject of a take-out order by the Downey Planning Department, which says it’s in violation of updated city codes. Prime offender is a 60-foot-tall arch, topped by Speedee, a chubby, winking chef who was the chain’s original mascot until Ronald McDonald shoved him aside.

Hearing Scheduled

The Downey Planning Commission will listen to arguments for and against the antique arches at a public hearing tonight at City Hall. Any decision can be appealed to the City Council.

The controversy arose recently when Pep Boys, which owns the McDonald’s property as well as an adjoining shopping center, was told to take down its own sign, which is also too big for the city’s taste.

If Pep Boys puts up its proposed new sign, the giant McDonald’s arch on the corner of Lakewood and Florence Blvds. would have to come down.

But Pep Boys spokesman David Bird emphasized this was not a case of Manny, Moe and Jack ganging up on Speedee.

“We have no objection to the McDonald’s sign continuing to stand but we were told that under the new ordinance only one shopping center sign is allowed and we want it to be ours,” Bird said.

Fight for Survival

For co-owner Roger Williams, 79, it’s just the latest chapter in a never-ending fight for the survival of the world’s only independent McDonald’s.

“We’ve got a lot of friends, but I don’t know if we have enough this time,” he said quietly as he finished lunch at an outdoor table.

Williams and Bud Landon paid $2,500 to acquire the franchise from the original McDonald brothers, who later sold their operation to Ray Kroc. The Downey stand decided to go it alone.

“Because we don’t pay McDonald’s (corporation) a franchise fee, they won’t let us use Ronald McDonald or serve any dishes they advertise on TV, like Happy Meals,” said Larry Ackerman, the restaurant’s general manager.

What’s worse, a few years ago, a rival McDonald’s franchise popped up 10 blocks away.

Tourist Attraction

“It was put there for one reason--to bust this McDonald’s,” said Ackerman (a charge that the corporation has denied). “They almost broke our backs but we came back. Just the other day, we had a whole busload of Japanese tourists here. They’d taken a special detour from Los Angeles.”

Unlike its corporate stepbrothers, the hamburger stand sells nostalgia items such as T-shirts and hats that say, “I Ate at the World’s Oldest McDonald’s.” The place is an open-air time capsule from the 1950s, from the unslick slogan (“Your Kind of Place!”) and no-frills dining section (outside seating only) to the old-fashioned cooking facilities.

“We don’t have timers for our hamburgers or french fries or any of that stuff,” said manager Ackerman. “We’re not idiot-proof here.”

“When the movie ‘Back to the Future,’ came out,” said one diner, Ann Davis, “a lot of the kids rushed down here to see what the 50s were like.”

A Place in History

A few years ago, the state Historical Resources Commission nominated the restaurant for placement in the National Register of Historic Places, but nothing further happened because Pep Boys refused to grant permission for the designation. Bird said Pep Boys feared that registry might prevent dismantling the sign should the McDonald’s ever go out of business.

Long-time customers seemed shocked over the threat to the arches.

“It’s a landmark and it’s great to use for directions,” said Diane Clinton. “Like if someone asks, where’s the dialysis center, we say, it’s just down the street from Mac’s.”