Above: Myself at the Still Creek McDonald’s location, 2022

*Disclaimer: This article is not about the recent shooting at the Still Creek McDonald’s in Burnaby. It was (partially) written prior to the incident that occurred on September 12th.

In Expo 86, McDonald’s had a floating restaurant. Eventually, it was abandoned in Maple Ridge, where it sank earlier this year. Followers of my work may have noticed I’ve got an affinity for the McBarge. It’s been the subject of a full article, and featured in many others across my portfolio. I’d like to preface this story by telling you that no, I’m not crazy. I’m not obsessed with strange McDonald’s locations in Metro Vancouver, that’d be weird….

However, there just so happens to be one more weird McDonald’s I’ve gotta talk about. 

4410 Still Creek Drive, Burnaby. It goes by many names. “Aluminum McDonald’s”, “Saucer McDonald’s”, but in my house, we know it only as “The Mothership”. This location has a very distinctive retro style. It’s already abnormal 2 stories of dining space are surrounded by a cocoon of space-age reflective aluminum, hence my loving nickname.

It serves as a training center for new recruits and an office for McDonald’s Canada, which explains the size, but I’m still stumped on the look. The Mothership McDonald’s looks unlike anything else in the company’s portfolio, except one. 

Above: The McBarge in the Burrard Inlet (Taz/Flickr)

The aerodynamic curves and neo-futuristic design are not far off from that of the McBarge itself. So, was Expo influence the reason behind Still Creek McDonald’s distinctive spacecraft exterior? I took to the internet to find out. 

First things first, I searched social media for any mention of the Mothership. Sure enough, a page dedicated to strange McDonald’s locations cataloged an image of it, my first lead. I found out about it’s history as a training center, but beyond that, nothing concrete was learned.  

Next, I searched Google Maps’ Street View for potential clues on the location’s history. If you didn’t already know, some locations on Maps have been photographed multiple times, which gives viewers a chance to toggle between different eras in a given place’s existence. Unfortunately for me, this would end up as a dead end, as the only cataloged photo was from October of 2020. 

I couldn’t think of anywhere else to look. Sure, I might be able to contact McDonald’s directly for an answer, but I’ve got deadlines to meet, there’s simply no time. This is the “all is lost” moment on the plot graph, the time in the story when… Well, all seems lost. But then, out of seemingly thin air, I had a moment of genius. The Burnaby Archives! 

I searched for McDonald’s on the archives’ site, and sure enough, I was delivered exactly what I had been searching for: “Comprehensive Development Plans-Bylaw No.8435, Rezoning Reference #63/85 (McDonald’s Ltd. Office/Restaurant). Architectural files for a Burnaby McDonald’s, one that was both an office and a restaurant. But the nail on the coffin was the date: 1986.  

My theory goes as follows: McDonald’s needed a new training facility and head office in Metro Vancouver, as the chain was expanding rapidly and would serve as a sponsor for the upcoming Expo 86. This McDonald’s, this Mothership, was inspired by the new wave of slick architecture the fair brought to the area, explaining the aluminum exterior. I wasn’t able to determine if this was a renovation or a ground-up new build, but the file description makes me think it was the former.

So, case closed, right? Well, unfortunately there’s some gaps in logic in my masterwork, as I couldn’t access the complete contents of the file online. If this McDonald’s was renovated or built ahead of Expo, wouldn’t the file have a date from before the fair, not the year of? Was the file in question actually about the Still Creek location? It’s not made clear in the description. All this uncertainty leaves me unable to draw any conclusions, but I won’t give up the search for the truth. The mystery of the Mothership lives on, but mark my words: I will find out why this random McDonald’s looks funny, or so help me God. 

All this talking about McDonald’s has made me a bit peckish. Anyone want a Big Mac? 

Written by Noah Schmidt

Contact: nschmidt20@my.bcit.ca