Beginning as manager trainee and crewperson, respectively, Tom and Candace Spiel have risen within the ranks of the McDonald’s system to own and operate nine restaurants in southern California. In 2010, they rebuilt their first McDonald’s, which originally opened in 1966. They chose to rebuild it to LEED® Gold standards, incorporating eco-friendly and energy-efficient features. The restaurant located at 2242 University Avenue in Riverside, CA, is the first McDonald’s restaurant west of the Mississippi and the fourth in the U.S. to seek LEED Gold certification. This McDonald’s restaurant highlights the green focus of Riverside: California’s first Emerald City.
From automating freezer temperature reporting to managing a solar array, a LonWorks control network helped this restaurant reduce its carbon footprint.