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The new restaurant, near the southbound offramp from I-5, has received a warm welcome in the small town. Like many McDonald's, this one is independently owned, not corporate-owned. The owners live near Springfield.
A new McDonald’s restaurant opened in Creswell Aug. 15, and it’s the 16th location for a local family. The Campbell family owns McDonald’s restaurants across the Eugene, Springfield, Cottage Grove and Roseburg areas.
Kara Campbell, who runs the McDonald’s locations with her husband, Shane, and extended family, said McDonald’s corporate approached them about expanding to Creswell, due to its proximity to Cottage Grove and shared small-town character. The Campbells live near Springfield.
“We’re from small towns, and I love the Creswell vibe,” Campbell said. “I love having our restaurants be where we can be a part of the community and make an impact.”
Community welcome
The opening was delayed while they waited for installation of a permanent electrical transformer.
“This store has been in the works for a long time,” Campbell said. “We were waiting on a transformer and we weren’t allowed to use a temporary transformer, so we’re actually a year behind development.”
Once construction began, however, the restaurant went up quickly.
The new location has received an enthusiastic welcome from Creswell. Mayor Nick Smith and the Chamber of Commerce have been actively supportive of the opening.
For the grand opening, the girls and boys soccer, volleyball and cross country teams from Creswell High School volunteered to help with operations. In return, the restaurant donated $2,000 to support the athletic programs.
Customers who brought canned goods for the Creswell food pantry to the grand opening received a free medium order of fries, and the restaurant offered $1.99 Happy Meals, selling more than 700 on the opening day. The food bank received 88 pounds of food from the donations.
The family story
Campbell said most people assume that McDonald’s locations are corporate-owned, but that is not the case for those in the area. While the Campbells own 16 locations, another family owns three. A press release from McDonald’s announcing the opening said more than 30 McDonald’s owners and operators represent 170 McDonald’s restaurants throughout Oregon and southwest Washington.
Campbell said their journey to owning so many McDonald’s is “a crazy story.”
During college, Shane Campbell had a roommate who worked in McDonald’s, so he began working for a McDonald’s as well. After years of working in different roles, from crew member to corporate leadership, Shane met an owner/operator who invited him to manage her McDonald’s locations in Utah.
He has now been with the company for 30 years. Shane and Kara then said yes to the chance to purchase five McDonald’s in southwest Missouri. They sold those stores, then moved to Oregon in 2021, where they started with 11 restaurants.
Kara Campbell was a teacher who joined Shane in the business about 10 years ago. She got approved to buy her own restaurant four years ago.
Campbell is involved in the community in different ways, including serving as chair of the board of the Springfield Ronald McDonald House. And working the stores has been a family affair, where they’re all visible to patrons.
“We have five kids, and they have spouses, and a lot of the kids are working the business with us, too,” she said. “It’s a family business for us. We work in the stores daily.”
Want to go?
McDonald’s
375 E. Oregon Ave, Creswell
linktr.ee/mcdonaldsoregon
