Just hang on a little while longer, McDonalds fans. If everything works out right, a week from today we can all get our MickyD's fix.

"We're aiming at Thursday, May 24 to open, but I want to make sure everything's just right," owner David Cravens said. "People ask me every day when we'll be ready, and I guarantee we want to open just as soon as we can. But I won't do it until it's right, when I know we can give our customers the service they're used to from us."

The long-planned replacement of the McDonald's building began in early March with the dismantling of the old building. Contractors have worked long hours for the last ten weeks to complete the project, and watching the old building go down and the new one go up has been has become a habit with most of the population of Wilkes County.

"My boys Douglas and Dalton get so excited when they see it all coming together," said Paula Stevens. "When McDonald's opens back up, life can go back to normal."

There are still a million and one construction details to finish, everything from installing new drink machines to pouring the padded floor under the Playland. "Everywhere I look I see one more thing that needs to be done," Cravens said. "But I think we can make it."

McDonald's manager Margie Burke has been training newly hired employees for the last two weeks. "Most of our folks have come back, but I've hired 18 or 20 new people to be ready for opening," she said. The newly hired employees have

been training on computers and at the Thomson location. Several of the store's employees have been working in other McDonald's restaurants that Cravens owns, carpooling to locations in Thomson and Augusta while their Washington location was being rebuilt.

When the long-awaited opening finally comes next week, however, Cravens' best managers and crew will come to Washington to help out. "Since everybody's been telling me how much they miss us, we expect to be really busy the first few days," he said. "So I'm bringing in a few of my best people to make sure you get the service you expect."

But first, he's got a lot of details to bring together in the next week before the first burger hits the grill. "We'll make it," he said. "I hope."