ELYRIA – The McDonalds/BP gas station combo at the corner of West River Road N. and Midway Boulevard will serve its last hamburger 7 p.m. today so it can be demolished and replaced by a more modern McDonald’s franchise.

Demolition will begin Sept. 1, and the new restaurant, which will mimic the cafe-like conversion similar to other McDonald’s nationwide, will likely reopen by Thanksgiving.

“Everything will be state-of-the-art,” said Sharon Figueroa, who with her husband, Joe, has owned the restaurant since 2001, as well as the McDonald’s on Griswold Road and in the Super Walmart at Chestnut Commons.

The new restaurant will have an earth-tone look and high-backed booths, and will feature a fireplace, plasma TVs and free Wi-Fi. Its seating capacity will double, from 45 now to about 90.

McDonald’s and BP shared the site from the early 1990s until BP left in January. Figueroa said she hopes to have a digital reader board installed in the next six weeks at the front of the site, under the famous golden arches, that will update passersby on the status of construction.

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