Your McUpdate: New menu items, new owner, eventual new location

Owning or co-owning 17 restaurants by age 40 is pretty impressive.

Especially when they’re part of the world’s largest fast-food restaurant chain.

But Jordan Hartshorn didn’t start at the top. Not even close.

He was 12 when he started working in McDonald’s dining rooms on weekends, as his dad, Mike, moved into management.

By his 40th birthday – literally, on his 40th birthday – they became the owners of all the McDonald’s in Sioux Falls, adding to their holdings.

So when you want to know what’s new under the “Golden Arches,” you talk to Jordan Hartshorn.

We did, and here’s what we found out.

New menu items

The chicken sandwich battle will be heating up in the weeks ahead. McDonald’s is going all in with three new offerings.

Here’s what’s new to the menu:

A crispy chicken sandwich topped with crinkle cut pickles on a toasted, buttered potato roll.

A spicy chicken sandwich with spicy pepper sauce and crinkle cut pickles on a toasted, buttered potato roll.

And a deluxe chicken sandwich that adds shredded lettuce, Roma tomatoes and mayo.

Oh, and if you were part of the reason spicy nuggets sold out last year – a McDonald’s rarity – those are now on the permanent menu.

And on the seasonal side, the Shamrock Shake is back. Look for it at least through St. Patrick’s Day.

There’s another new McDonald’s coming – eventually

It will be at 85th Street and Minnesota Avenue, but they’re still working out how it should look. Post-COVID, will people go into dining rooms? Or order delivery? TBD.

And speaking of picking up food – go mobile

With dining rooms closed, the drive-thrus at McDonald’s clearly never have been busier.

Hartshorn calls the mobile ordering option the best-kept secret.

“I don’t know why more people don’t use it,” he said. “It’s actually a good way to get in front of people if you’re in a rush.”

His menu hack

Hartshorn eats at McD’s up to three times a week – and it’s usually the same thing. Combo meal No. 9, which is two cheeseburgers – ketchup only – “and I take the fries and smash them in the middle of the burger and eat them that way. That’s my go-to.”

The biggest misconception

Working at McDonald’s is like joining a McFamily most people don’t know about, he said.

“One thing I’ve never understood is the stigma McDonald’s has. It’s like, ‘You’re going to go work at McDonald’s?’ And we have all these talented people that end up working for this McFamily, and it’s unfortunate that stigma is out there. They make good careers, and it works for them and for us. And we’re always looking for talent. Don’t be shy to apply.”

Want to learn more about this McOwner’s career path? Click below.

Meet Sioux Falls’ ‘McOwner’: New McDonald’s franchisee prepares for growth