Attention all McNugget lovers! Do you hear the joyous tune “BA-DA-BA-BA-BA” in the air? Well, if so, it’s because De Soto is welcoming its first-ever fast food restaurant, a McDonald’s. Are you lovin’ it?

In early September, Dillon Hamman, national real estate manager for McDonald’s, created a post on LinkedIn, expressing the company’s newest secured site, a 1.93-acre parcel located to the left of Dollar General, on the corner of Ash St. and Guthrie St. in De Soto, Iowa.

This is a great pad for the franchise because it will attract interstate traffic off of I-80. Hamman also explains that [The location allows the company to] serve Adel and De Soto commuters heading to, and from Des Moines, [and] provide truck parking, which is essential for attracting long-haul drivers.” 

Why not Adel? With the addition of the new high school in Adel coming in 2027, a great opportunity presents itself for hungry students during open lunch periods, in addition to the town’s rapid growth in recent years. However, Adel lacks major retail, making it difficult to pinpoint a competitive advantage within the district; therefore, locating off of I-80 guarantees interstate commuters. 

The construction is planned to begin in the latter half of 2025 and be completed by the end of 2026. In September 2025, the site was officially secured; however, due to the process of awaiting approval from a Local District Commission for a bigger establishment, the construction has been delayed. Additionally, this ensures a bigger and better structure for all the Mickey Deez stans. 

Although this entails an “I don’t feel like making dinner”  meal anytime of the week, it changes the competitive nature for locally owned restaurants in the area. 

Ambro’s Roadhouse, a bar and grill, is located on the other side of Dollar General, on Guthrie St., and opened its doors in October 2016. The restaurant was constructed from an old house and flipped into a lively atmosphere with American-style cuisine.  Being the only restaurant in town, how will the incoming franchise affect the nature of competition of a business that has been lonely for nearly a decade?

“I think that it might actually help our business in a way, cause it’ll have the McDonald’s sign for ‘food at this exit’ and our sign as well for food, off the interstate, so I think it will be beneficial for business,” said Amber Broeker, owner and founder of Ambro’s Roadhouse. “I think it might hurt our lunch crowd, if anything, with construction workers and other people. But you know, this could be a really good thing for us. It’s gonna help the town add more business.” 

Although it may seem like a contributing factor to the business’s customers, it seems as though McDonald’s will bring with it benefits for the community, and a variety of dine-in vs. to-go meal opportunities. However, a quicker and easier meal doesn’t always mean better quality.

Amber Broeker explained how her business stands out from other competitors within the area. “The social interaction with other people, our great staff, our amazing food, the benefits of the nice sit-down restaurant, [how] we always have music playing, getting to sit down and interact with the servers and the bartenders, makes our business stand out. The pricing for our meals is not far off from McDonald’s either; our cheeseburger meals are about the same.”

Brinn Kreifels, a very busy, multi-sport athlete, says that “drive-thrus are more convenient than dining in at a restaurant. It is more suitable for my schedule to just get a quick bite to eat, in between or before practices. I do enjoy restaurants, but I don’t always have time to sit down and eat.” The question is, does quality outweigh the convenience of fast food chains vs. local cuisine?

It depends. The city of De Soto will benefit from the new McDonald’s, bringing with it hungry customers, new faces, and more business for the growing town. Although lunch-hour numbers may decrease for the locally owned establishment, McDonald’s will allow an option for hungry commuters and bring more attraction to what the town has to offer.