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McDonald’s permanently closed six restaurants in the first quarter of this year that had been operating inside Walmart Supercenter locations in Collier and Lee counties. The closings include locations on Juliet Boulevard in North Naples, Collier Boulevard in East Naples, Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers, Pine Island Road in North Fort Myers, Del Prado Boulevard in Cape Coral and Lee Boulevard in Lehigh Acres, according to Denise T. Wilson, Southeast public relations manager for McDonald’s USA. Fast-food sales have been down at Walmart locations because fewer people have been coming inside to shop traditionally, opting instead for online ordering, pickup and delivery. In a move accelerated by the pandemic, McDonald’s is shrinking its presence inside Walmart stores to about 150 locations nationwide, down from about 500 in early 2000. At the peak of their partnership, about 1,000 McDonald’s units operated inside Walmart stores.
