Why it will be harder to grab McDonald's if you're driving through NY

NEW YORK (PIX11) --- Hungry travelers in New York may have to look elsewhere if they're hoping for a Big Mac. Effective January 1, the McDonald's locations still located at New York Thruway service areas were shut down, according to the Thruway Authority. The McDonald's operating agreement expired on New Year's Eve. Drivers used to [...]

NEW YORK (PIX11) --- Hungry travelers in New York may have to look elsewhere if they're hoping for a Big Mac. Effective January 1, the McDonald's locations still located at New York Thruway service areas were shut down, according to the Thruway Authority. The McDonald's operating agreement expired on New Year's Eve.

Drivers used to be able to pick up McNuggets and more at Malden, Scuyler, Warners, Ontario, Angola East, Port Byron, DeWitt, Mohawk, Guilderland, Modena and Ramapo service areas. They'll be replaced with Applegreen C-Stores. Some service areas may have Sbarro, Subway or Burger King locations.

In addition to closing down the McDonald's locations, the Thruway service also closed down the Ramapo and Warners service areas for construction. Each location will be entirely rebuilt. Drivers will still be able to gas up at the locations during construction.

All 27 Thruway service areas will be modernized. When the plans were announced, officials said "expanded food concepts" would include Shake Shack, Panera, Popeyes, Burger King, Panda Express, Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, Dunkin', Taste NY and Applegreen Convenience Stores. Construction on the service areas began in 2021.

"This expansive project will modernize the buildings and amenities, provide diverse and healthy food options with new restaurants and Taste NY products, and enhance the amenities for the commercial trucking industry," the Thruway Authority executive director said when the construction was announced. "This is an exciting era for the Thruway Authority and we can’t wait for our customers to experience these new modern facilities.”