Downtown’s last McDonald’s set to close as property owner hints at speedy replacement

PITTSBURGH — Nick Nicholas had reason to suspect the possibility that McDonald’s could close its last downtown restaurant at the gateway location of 500 Liberty Avenue last year even as he and his partner Jim Patrinos closed on buying the property.

While he said he expected McDonald’s to continue to operate at the time last June, Nicholas added, “They had two five-year options. They even had the right to buy the building.”

Yet Nicholas, whose family continues to operate the 104-year-old Nicholas Coffee Co. in Market Square and owns a host of other nearby properties in Market Square, added McDonald’s opted not to buy the Liberty Avenue property in which it had operated a restaurant for about 50 years.

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