The idle McDonald’s restaurant property at Exit 23 in Stevensville has been sold to an entrepreneur with lifelong ties to the area. Adam Lieberman, who operates August Pohl Auto Parts on M-139 in Benton Harbor and Ferry Street in Berrien Springs, told MOTM that he is buying the McDonald’s site as a real estate investment and a vote of confidence in the future of Southwest Michigan. Lieberman has no plans to utilize the site in connection with August Pohl Auto Parts.
Instead, he told us, it is available for lease for any business purpose permitted by the purchase agreement with McDonald’s Corporation. That restriction expressly prohibits any food or beverage services, cannabis sales or pornographic related business. Anything else is ‘fair game.’ And Lieberman feels the location immediately adjacent to I-94 will soon attract the economic imagination of entrepreneurs like himself.
Lieberman pointed out that the former Mc D’s property is larger than it looks—about an acre & a half, a narrow but deep parcel laying alongside the Westbound I-94 exit ramp. He acknowledged that many potential uses might involve demolition of the former restaurant building. However, Lieberman declined to speculate on specific potential uses for the site. He suggested that any serious business owner with an idea should reach out to the realtor handling the leasing: Joshua Jacobs of NAI Wisinski West Michigan at 269-459-0430.
Mc Donald’s closed the restaurant last December, citing declining sales and difficult business conditions amid ongoing I-94 construction. However, since then, two new fast food outlets have opened nearby and appear to be thriving (Jimmy John’s and Taco Bell).
