The world's biggest restaurant chain will open a pop-up store in inner city Glebe - and some in the area are definitely not lovin' it.
Fast food giant McDonald's plans to open a cafe among the eateries of Glebe Point Road for three days at the end of this week.
But residents, business owners and local politicians have no taste for the idea, and a "No McDonald's working group" has been formed.
While McDonald's says it has no plans to open a permanent store, the group is concerned the chain is testing the market and will not leave.
Organiser Amanda Tattersall, a Glebe resident and mother of two, said a permanent McDonald's store would smother the suburb's "village feel", undercut independent local businesses and offer an unhealthy option for school children.
"You don't open a store to make a loss and you don't open a store to move away," Ms Tattersall, who is also a former director of community lobby group Sydney Alliance, said.
"We would really encourage people to not use the store and provide metrics or money to a global company that is not welcome in Glebe."
It is not entirely clear what McDonald's has planned for its store in the old Valhalla cinema building, but it is understood it won't be in the style of the traditional restaurants or The Corner McCafe which has opened in Camperdown.
That experimental store, which quietly opened its doors in 2014, serves healthy food and has little resemblance or branding to link it with the McDonald's chain.
McDonald's has sought to reposition itself in the market, launching a new "UnMcDonald" campaign and the self-serve Create Your Taste system in a bid to refresh its brand and challenge pre-conceived ideas about its products.
Australia has become a priority and testing ground for McDonald's, as it battles falling sales in its largest market the United States.
It is unlikely the Glebe iteration of McDonald's will have golden arches, Ronald, or serve up quarter pounders and fries.
"We will be operating a temporary eatery on Glebe Point Road for three days at the end of the week. It will not be a traditional Macca's (i.e. full-scale restaurant or cafe)," a McDonald's spokeswoman said in an emailed statement. The spokeswoman would not confirm what specific days, but it is believed to be Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Glebe Chamber of Commerce president Kris Spann, who owns a cafe on Glebe Point Road, said McDonald's was attempting to leach off the area's reputation for good food and drink.
"If they want to compete on coffee, if they want to compete on community connection, if they want to compete on locally and ethically sourced food then Glebe has got them covered," Mr Spann said.
"I think Glebe is resilient enough that if they did open, it would be very short lived, especially in the location they have chosen which is in the Glebe heartland."
While McDonald's has more than 900 stores across Australia, it has also faced strong community opposition when trying to move into new locations.
Protests have met the chain when it tried to open in parts of the Blue Mountains, Byron Bay, Port Macquarie and and Moruya.
McDonald's is leasing the shopfront in Glebe and did not need to apply for any council approvals as the site already had development consent to operate as a cafe.
"The cafe will still be required to comply with the conditions outlined within the current development approval including hours of operation and will be expected to comply with existing food safety standards," a City of Sydney spokeswoman said.
