It is not often that you associate a McDonald's restaurant with such architectural beauty and opulence that it becomes a top tourist attraction in its own right.

But this is exactly what the newly renovated McDonald's at the Western Train Station in Budapest has achieved. The NY Post hails it a '5-star hotel restaurant' and the most beautiful McDonald's in the world.

https://nypost.com/2024/09/03/lifestyle/worlds-most-beautiful-mcdonalds-reopens-inside-old-train-station/

The restaurant is situated within the grand structure designed in 1877 by The Eiffel Company (founded by Gustave Eiffel, designer of the Eiffel Tower), and became a beacon of freedom when it first opened shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1990.

The renovation placed special emphasis on incorporating natural materials, preserving the building's historic integrity, and creating a highly enjoyable customer environment.

Re-Imagining the customer experience by blending together seemingly incongruous components - in this case historic, elegant architecture with cutting-edge, tech-based order placement and comfortable, sustainability-driven eating space - is very smart application of the Innovation Shortcut.

In what way are you taking advantage of the shortcut to combine previously separate or seemingly incompatible components in order to unlock new customer value?

#innovation #smartstrategy #leadership #mcdonalds #transformation #customerexperience #architecture