McDonald’s “Golden Arches” logo is one of the most familiar business symbols globally, but there is one instance where the American fast food company agreed to change the arches from yellow to blue.
At the McDonald’s restaurant in Sedona, Arizona, the Golden Arches logo is blue instead of yellow. And this is the only McDonald’s restaurant in the world that doesn’t have a yellow logo. And the reason the colour of this logo has been changed is the stunning natural beauty, particularly the red rock formations surrounding Sedona.
Sedona is a small settlement, which was incorporated as a town in 1998, and it wasn’t long before a local businessman decided to open a McDonald’s restaurant there. Because of Sedona’s beautiful natural scenery, local authorities wanted all businesses to blend into the natural landscape of desert and red rock.
Bright yellow arches of the original McDonald’s logo was considered too distracting. Therefore, when franchise owner Greg Cook approached the Community Development Department to open the restaurant, they worked together to find an alternative. Finally, they agreed to adopt the teal (greenish blue) of the shopping centre next door.
Sedona strictly regulates the height of the business signage, making arches of this McDonald’s eatery much lower than other eateries of the same food chain around the United States.
When McDonald’s opened its doors for the first time in Sedona in 1993, the blue arches may have been regarded as a worthwhile compromise by its owner, but it proved good for the business in the long run. The only known McDonald’s with teal arches, the restaurant has become a tourist attraction.
“I’ve seen people get out and take pictures in front of the sign with their families,” development services manager Nicholas Gioello said. The town of Sedona continues to enforce special laws to regulate sign brightness, exterior lighting and colours of building materials in order to preserve the natural beauty of the area.
