McDonald’s is opening its first restaurant in Val-des-Sources, Quebec, on Friday, Nov. 27. The new restaurant on 567 1re Avenue (Première Avenue) is owned by franchisee Charles Auger, who says construction is progressing well and the schedule is on track.
Auger, who already operates seven McDonald’s restaurants in the region, including those in Windsor and Melbourne, is hiring about 50 employees for the new location. Hiring days were held on Oct. 23 and 24 at the Carrefour jeunesse-emploi, the town’s youth employment center. Auger would also like to offer 24-hour service, which would depend on having enough staff.
Val-des-Sources is the largest town in the MRC des Sources in the Estrie region, about 170 kilometres east of Montréal. It was known as Asbestos until residents voted in 2020 to adopt a new name, a change meant to leave the mining-era image behind. The new restaurant is one of the town’s bigger recent commercial projects. A building permit for the construction, valued at about $1.75 million, was issued earlier this year.
The project was first led by McDonald’s Canada, and Auger and his team took it over as franchisee last summer. His family has deep ties to the brand: his uncle, Jacques Auger, opened the first McDonald’s in the Lévis area in 1977. Auger previously spent about a decade at the chocolate chain Chocolats Favoris, and later left to pursue McDonald’s ownership. Opening hours for the Val-des-Sources restaurant will be announced in the coming weeks.
The opening date and hiring details were reported by OUI 99.3 Estrie.
