Notorious West 3rd Street McDonald’s Goes Belly Up

Photo: Apple Maps
Not even McDonald’s can hack it right now. The long-running locations aren’t immune, either.
The decades-old Greenwich Village restaurant on West Third Street, across from the legendary basketball courts (aka “The Cage”), is now dark. Storefront branding was stripped and interior furnishings are gone, and the store dormant.
This often chaotic, rock-and-roll McDonald’s was notorious, possibly more so than the sister spot on Delancey Street. Late nights spent at the Comedy Cellar, Blue Note, or the myriad Macdougal Street bars could conclude here, where chaps often erupted. And violence – fights and robberies were du jour.
Strange scenes, too. One customer reminisced on Twitter that a guy once walked into the McDonald’s with a python on his shoulder.
This franchise was also made famous due to its inclusion in Adam Sandler’s 1999 film, Big Daddy. (The scene Sandler is pissed breakfast stops at 10:00am.)
End of a era smh McDonald’s across the st from the cage on w4th st station pic.twitter.com/SBkW9AtKMD
— Lord Nez (@LordNez) January 3, 2021
RIP I remember a guy walking in with a python on his shoulders, and then he placed it on mine so he can go grab his order… Good memories.
— Eric Chan (@Erikku_Chan) January 3, 2021