mcdonalds riverboat st louis mo

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St. Louis Once Had A Floating McDonald’s

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I had no idea this existed, but back in 1980 St. Louis was home to the first and only floating McDonald's on the Mississippi River.

The McDonald's floating boat was a stationary structure that was on the St. Louis Riverfront for 20 years. Now I moved to the Tri-State Area in 1991, and took several trips to St. Louis from then until 2000, and I NEVER knew this existed. The boat closed its location for business reason, according to the St. Louis Dispatch .

There were special uniforms made, this particular franchise employed 200 people, and the boat itself was designed by artist Charles Pearson. In the article the boat is described as,

The boat, built on a former cement barge, seats 134 persons inside and 200 more on open-air decks. It weighs 702 tons and measures more than 185 feet in length and 50 feet to the top of its twin smokestacks.

So why build a floating McDonald's? Back in the 1980's, the St. Louis Riverfront was the place to be, and local government was noticing the amount of people visiting the Riverfront. When the question came up on what do we do now, that's when Samuel Hayes and  Dr. Benjamin H. Davis Sr stepped in with an idea that would make history. The idea actually came from Hayes four year prior and Davis is no stranger to the McDonald's franchise, at the time he already owned four.

This was the first for the franchise, but not the last. There later came the McBarge a floating McDonald's restaurant in  Canada , but now sits vacant and is for sale . If you dare!

Just think of it, sitting on a deck eating McDonald's and looking out to the river, I'm sure it was a site to see. Sad that it no longer exists, but you never know it might be back.

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The McDonald’s Paddleboat Was a Fast Food Trendsetter. Then It Disappeared

By James Gilboy

Updated on Jan 10, 2024 2:59 PM EST

Themed restaurants are always a bit of a gamble. When the point is the decor, you can’t help worrying that food comes second. Maybe that’s why themed joints from Casa Bonita to the Rainforest Cafe and McDonald’s McTrain haven’t always been able to stay afloat. Maybe literally in the case of the paddleboat McDonald’s of St. Louis, MO, which vanished decades ago. Perhaps it found a new life—or maybe the bad omen at its christening shouldn’t have been ignored.

Opened March 11, 1980 according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch , the McPaddleboat (as I’ll unofficially call it) was the world’s first floating McDonald’s restaurant. McDonald’s had hoped to open a franchise in the museum under the nearby Gateway Arch, but the city wasn’t having it. Instead, McD’s turned its attention to the riverfront, where restaurant tickets averaged a then-pricey $6 a head (almost $24 in 2023). The restaurant got a permit, bought a watercraft, and signed a local franchisee, sending the McPaddleboat on its merry way.

I keep calling it that, but this restaurant wasn’t technically a boat. It was an up-fitted cement barge with a structure reminiscent of an 1880s-style paddleboat, measuring 185 feet long, 50 feet high, and more than 700 tons. The interior was styled accordingly with 19th-century paintings and murals, seating 134 indoors and 200 outside on benches.

The crew was enormous at 200-strong, and they all had uniforms unique to the location. (They can be seen in the archived newscast below.) The franchise’s owner, dentist Dr. Benjamin H. Davis Sr., even got an admiral’s outfit—though no photos of his getup seem to survive. In contrast with the McTrain , there doesn’t seem to be any indication that the McPaddleboat had its own special menu.

For decades, the McPaddleboat served tourists and locals alike. They recall the establishment smelling like a mix of diesel, fryer grease, and beached catfish according to Riverfront Times . Those seemed not to matter, as living in a landlocked state, a McD’s on a barge was the closest most kids growing up in ’80s St. Louis could get to dining on a yacht.

“I remember taking my parents to the floating McDonald’s when they came to visit me from upstate New York,” recalled Cameron Collins, author of “Lost Treasures of St. Louis,” to Riverfront Times . “My dad had never seen the Mississippi up close and personal, and tried to wade in it. I have memories of eating a Big Mac and taking in the Arch and hearing my mom yell at my dad, ‘Peter! Get away from the edge!'”

Apparently, the concept was successful enough to be worth copying. A second floating McD’s was opened in Vancouver in 1986, and an executive told media at the time that a Hong Kong franchisee had also asked to license the idea. Perhaps they were inspired by the then-new tourist destination Jumbo Kingdom . More locally, a floating Burger King sprang up nearby, but it was reportedly washed away and destroyed in a 1993 flood.

But while this floating McDonald’s may have weathered a storm its copycat didn’t, any seaman who attended the McPaddleboat’s christening would’ve felt uneasy about the craft. St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that breaking the champagne bottle on its bow took two tries—a bad omen in seagoing culture. Seaworthy the McPaddleboat may not have been, but a sailor would be worried about the barge going under. As it turned out, their fears would’ve been justified.

On November 7, 2000, the St. Louis Business Journal reported the McPaddleboat had closed the day prior due to problems with the restaurant’s “structure.” McDonald’s told the outlet the barge was “in need of extensive renovation, which is financially not justifiable at the present.” That justification never came around, and the McPaddleboat vanished from the historical record thereafter. What happened from there to its (maybe leaky) husk doesn’t seem to have been documented.

Maybe it met a similar fate to the Vancouver franchise that copied it, the McBarge, which went bust and was towed away in 1991 to an inlet where it has rotted since. That’s a more fantastic end than the McPaddleboat likely met; it was probably stripped back down to a barge again, and then either returned to service or scrapped.

Today, the McPaddleboat seems to live on only in scans of official postcards, likely sold on board the restaurant itself. Wish you were here, McPaddleboat.

Got a tip or question for the author? You can reach them here: [email protected]

News 4 Throwback: Riverboat McDonald’s in 1980

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) - New 4 is taking you back to March 1980 when Riverboat McDonald’s first came to St. Louis.

Copyright 2022 KMOV. All rights reserved.

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Riverboat McDonald's - St. Louis, Missouri

"world's first floating mcdonald's" the elegant indoor seating are on the main deck features wood trim, beaded porch ceiling, and solid brass chandeliers. the walls are adorned with historic murals depicting life on the mississippi at the turn of the century. interior design by norman schuman of schuman design works in st. louis.   tim reed mcgrew color graphics 471307 capa-028400.

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McDonald's Riverboat - St. Louis

Here are a few photos of the McDonald's Riverboat, always advertised as the ONLY floating McDonald's in the world, and long a fixture on the St. Louis levee from 1980 until it "disappeared" in the 1990's. Does anybody know WHERE it went?

Although built on a barge, the riverboat was well designed inside (featuring large photo murals of old steamboat scenes) and even had faux sidewheels in the wheelboxes which diners walked through to go aft on the second deck. An ice cream stand and a souvenir shop were on the forecastle and "concealed" inside small buildings that were disguised as stacked freight on the deck.

Keith Norrington;6217 wrote: Here are a few photos of the McDonald's Riverboat. Does anybody know WHERE it went?

This website http://answers.yahoo.com/ claims that it is now the Arch View Cafe

I've been on the floating Mac's a few times, it was always neat, I thought!

I always thought it would be clever if someone had a floating riverboat restaurant like this, and put a Dairy Queen franchise in it. The boat would automatically have its name: DAIRY QUEEN 🙂

Good morning all! I think Keith is correct. I have not dined there as of yet-in fact I had no idea there was even a restaurant there! (PR in St. Louis usually only relates to sporting events). I do know that the only place it could be located is on the wharfboat for the Tom & Becky, as there aren't anymore structures on the riverfront except the heli-pad. I shall have to investigate...but before I go, I will already comment to the fact that it would be nice if they would move that helicopter for a nice and peaceful dinner!!!

Dairy Queen

Neat idea! It should definitely be a paddlewheeler. I've always thought of Dairy Queen whenever I see the DQ on the Delta Queen's smokestack as both use "DQ". With this idea implemented, we'd actually have a "Dairy Queen". It could even do dinner cruises between certain hours. The DQ franchise could even help pay for its upkeep and operation.

Steve Huffman;6223 wrote: I always thought it would be clever if someone had a floating riverboat restaurant like this, and put a Dairy Queen franchise in it. The boat would automatically have its name: DAIRY QUEEN 🙂

We've eaten there before too. It wasn't quite the Mike Fink in Covington, but it was great for a fast food restaurant. I wonder if it would have been more successful if it had done dinner cruises? If still in operation today, it would have the Gateway Arch on the St. Louis side and the Gateway Geyser facing East St. Louis.

Pete Sisak;6222 wrote: I've been on the floating Mac's a few times, it was always neat, I thought!

Arch View Cafe is not the McDonalds

To answer the question, the Arch View Cafe is not the former McDonalds riverboat. I don't know where the McDonalds ended up. The Arch View Cafe is nothing new, except in name. It's the same Gateway Arch Riverboat wharfboat as has always been there. It's just that they fixed it up and added the mysterious barge behind the existing one. I think it is an office barge.

The McDonalds was never designed for cruising. It was only a stationary boat. It would not survive as a cruising boat, because it goes against the very idea of fast food. When you are done with your meal, you leave the boat. The gambling "boat" industry is the same way. Gamblers don't care about cruises, so when they are done losing, they want to get off. That's why casinos don't cruise, and barely float anymore.

By the way, the Gateway Geyser is not, and never will be, a real St. Louis attraction. While it sounds interesting, the "geyser" rarely operates and when it does no one notices. If you stand on the riverfront steps, you are watching a plume of water that is almost a mile away across the river. What's so exciting about that? Plus, there's no sound. So, it's just a skinny plume of water, that blends in with the clouds. A better idea would be to create a water attraction on the Missouri side of the river.

Kevin is right. PR, or "news", rarely involves something interesting. If it is not sports, then it is bad news. The news crews only notice the river when it is flooding. And, they probably need maps just to find it.

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