Feature Story & Photos By: Larry H. Oskin
The newly remodeled Kings Ridge McDonald’s recently held its grand re-opening. The South Lake Chamber of Commerce hosted the ribbon-cutting ceremony, and Clermont Mayor Tim Murry as well as numerous members of the community attended.
The owner, Arturo Lojo Sr, spent over $3 million dollars in remodeling this year on two of the restaurants, while only using Clermont area resources and talent to further support the local community. The successful business owner currently has four McDonald’s location: the newly remodeled King’s Ridge McDonald’s at 4307 South US Highway 27 in Clermont (at Hartwood Marsh Road near Publix); a second at 2640 Highway 50; the third at 799 East Highway 50 in Clermont; and the Groveland location at 460 West Broad Street, Groveland.
Arturo Lojo Sr., notes, “We love Clermont and South Lake! You have all given us our success! We are very grateful! We live here in Clermont. We will always do everything we can to give back to help support you and our entire Clermont and Groveland area communities!”
With new food items on the menu, new foodservice equipment and some major investments in new artificial intelligence, this has become a state-of-the-art fast-food facility. There are three new chicken sandwiches and a new caramel brownie ice cream sundae. When you enter, you can quickly and safely order at their new digital kiosk. This month, they plan to introduce more new foods, while commercially featuring a popular Korean group. Some of the new foods will include chicken nuggets with special Korean sauces.
Despite the COVID pandemic setbacks and business slowdowns over the past year, they purposefully kept their entire workforce of 280 people fully employed with a commitment to help financially protect them and their families. Lojo shares, “While many other restaurants and businesses were forced to close or cut back, we remained 100% committed to our valued local staff team.” Under the direction of Arturo Lojo Sr., they spend a lot of time and energy giving back to the Clermont and the South Lake communities. They have continued to proudly share and fund numerous Clermont student scholarships and community efforts.
Owner Arturo Lojo Sr. is originally from Montevideo, Uruguay. His professional career began in banking and finance, serving as a business vice president for over 20 years. During difficult times, he escaped to Venezuela and safely escaped again to the Washington DC area.
Today, he successfully owns 3 McDonald’s in Clermont and one in Groveland. Lojo Restaurant Management has become a family business. His son Arturo Lojo Jr. is Director of Operations, supervising everything from food quality, customer services and finance to staffing.
To learn more, visit: https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us.html
