McDonalds Closed

I noticed the McDonalds at the Vauxhall service area on the GSP was closed.  I

saw no Mcdonalds logos and a search indicated that the shut down is permanent.

Anyone know the reason for the closure? Just wondering, one would think that

a prime location and money maker.

I really hope they don’t close that exit or I’ll never figure out how to get home.

ridski said:

I really hope they don’t close that exit or I’ll never figure out how to get home.

Seriously. 

I noticed the sign for the McDonald's at the Parkway rest stop in Bloomfield being worked on, the other day.  Maybe they were taking that down, also?

Didn't they recently remodel that one?  As for exiting through there - I always get off at 22 and turn off by Tiff's, always feels faster to me.

jamie said:

Didn't they recently remodel that one?  As for exiting through there - I always get off at 22 and turn off by Tiff's, always feels faster to me.

Depends where you live. I try to avoid 22 as much as humanly possible, I don't need that grief in my life.

You're only on it for like 1/2 mile - it's usually not too busy there.  I didn't realize that was the Whitney Houston Service Area.

I take the exit for chestnut towards union center. I find all the gymnastics people perform through McDonald’s to vauxhaul is not my cup of tea. 

nohero said:

I noticed the sign for the McDonald's at the Parkway rest stop in Bloomfield being worked on, the other day.  Maybe they were taking that down, also?

it’s closed permanently. Maybe they’re closing them all down because of these  ‘turnstile jumpers’ 

Jaytee said:

I take the exit for chestnut towards union center. I find all the gymnastics people perform through McDonald’s to vauxhaul is not my cup of tea. 

With the new traffic pattern I wouldn't have a fricking clue which one the Chestnut Street exit is, but as I would end up taking it to Vauxhall anyway, I might as well do it directly. You make a right, then drive around McDonalds, it's not rocket science. For people living in different parts of MWD, it would make sense to go through the tollbooth, but I live near Millburn, so Vauxhall Road is a direct line to my house.

The exit to Rt 22 before the rest area tended to be a nightmare during rush hour (in the before-times). Now they've changed the lane structure for the Rt 22 exit, which hopefully will help, but I haven't tried it yet. I find all the merges/lane shifts for the Rt 22 exit to be more stressful than going through the rest area/Vauxhall.  

That said, the new GSP lane structure at that exchange has made it more difficult to get all the way to the right side after the Rt 22 exit in order to exit at the rest area.

Jaytee said:

I take the exit for chestnut towards union center. I find all the gymnastics people perform through McDonald’s to vauxhaul is not my cup of tea. 

I've tried this one, but at rush hour that exit gets very backed up (especially with the old GSP traffic pattern), and traffic on all those side streets is terrible and challenging to get through.  

I used to do the Vauxhall rest stop thing. But now that you can get on 78 West from the northbound GSP it makes more sense to do that and get off at exit 50B. Then it's straight down Vauxhall Road, baby.

I enjoy how while exiting through the McDonald's lot I always consider getting a burger for a moment and then think better of it by the time I pass the gas pumps. Then I get to feel superior (though slightly hungry) when I view all the cars waiting in line at the drive thru. It's these little moments in life that keep me going. 

mrincredible said:

I used to do the Vauxhall rest stop thing. But now that you can get on 78 West from the northbound GSP it makes more sense to do that and get off at exit 50B. Then it's straight down Vauxhall Road, baby.

So you pay the toll instead of sticking it to The Man?

nohero said:

mrincredible said:

I used to do the Vauxhall rest stop thing. But now that you can get on 78 West from the northbound GSP it makes more sense to do that and get off at exit 50B. Then it's straight down Vauxhall Road, baby.

So you pay the toll instead of sticking it to The Man?

I have noticed that our toll roads seem to be better maintained than some of the non-toll interstates.  Can't for the life of me figure out why that might be.

jamie said:

You're only on it for like 1/2 mile - it's usually not too busy there.  I didn't realize that was the Whitney Houston Service Area.

They recently changed it, just like Cheesequake is now the Jon Bon Jovi rest area.

tjohn said:

nohero said:

So you pay the toll instead of sticking it to The Man?

I have noticed that our toll roads seem to be better maintained than some of the non-toll interstates.  Can't for the life of me figure out why that might be.

What you're saying is, we're "the Man" and we're sticking it to ourselves?

tjohn said:

nohero said:

So you pay the toll instead of sticking it to The Man?

I have noticed that our toll roads seem to be better maintained than some of the non-toll interstates. Can't for the life of me figure out why that might be.

There is that, but am I going to begrudge local residents the toll they avoid like every other non-through driver who leaves the parkway before the next booth? No, I am not.

nohero said:

mrincredible said:

I used to do the Vauxhall rest stop thing. But now that you can get on 78 West from the northbound GSP it makes more sense to do that and get off at exit 50B. Then it's straight down Vauxhall Road, baby.

So you pay the toll instead of avoiding paying your fair share of a fee to utilize a public resource, thus shifting more of the financial responsibility on to your fellow drivers?

Fixed it for you.

Wait, what? This is outrageous. How am I supposed to make my annual fart joke on the way to LBI?

ridski said: Cheesequake is now the Jon Bon Jovi rest area.

What is the toll at that point?  Trying to decide if I missed my chance to retire in Tuscany or, perhaps, Provence.

tjohn said:

What is the toll at that point?  Trying to decide if I missed my chance to retire in Tuscany or, perhaps, Provence.

Think Detroit, or maybe Toledo. Not the Spanish one.

that was the one remodeled after a roof collapse a few years ago...maybe 5....i never made it back to see what they did with it....

the google designation of 'permanently closed' isn't always right...i've seen a couple places wrongly listed as perm closed.

RobB said:

Wait, what? This is outrageous. How am I supposed to make my annual fart joke on the way to LBI?

ridski said: Cheesequake is now the Jon Bon Jovi rest area.

Your farts now go "OOWAOOWAOO-OO-OO-OOWAOOWAOO-OO-OO"

ridski said:

They recently changed it, just like Cheesequake is now the Jon Bon Jovi rest area.

So if we're travelling from Maplewood (Exit 142) to Long Branch (Exit 105), we can stop at the Jon Bon Jovi rest area (milepost 124) and sing -

Woah, we're halfway there
Woah-oh, livin' on a prayer
Take my hand, we'll make it, I swear

nohero said:

ridski said:

They recently changed it, just like Cheesequake is now the Jon Bon Jovi rest area.

So if we're travelling from Maplewood (Exit 142) to Long Branch (Exit 105), we can stop at the Jon Bon Jovi rest area (milepost 124) and sing -

Woah, we're halfway there
Woah-oh, livin' on a prayer
Take my hand, we'll make it, I swear

sprout said:

I've tried this one, but at rush hour that exit gets very backed up (especially with the old GSP traffic pattern), and traffic on all those side streets is terrible and challenging to get through.  

I stay in Stuyvesant to Stanley terrace. To me vauxhall  rd is worse. But if you’re going towards millburn then that’s fine. 

Some of the rest stops have been completely demolished and rebuilt in the last couple of years. I must say the new ones are very nice. 

The Judy Blume service area (formerly the Monmouth Service area) actually now has a Shake Shack as its restaurant. While I think this is kind of cool, it also kinda defeats the purpose because the orders take a while to fill. Although maybe the future of service areas is people stopping for an hour to charge their electric vehicles and eating a more slow-paced meal.