Louie Treffiletti, franchise owner of McDonald's Kirrawee. Picture by Murray Trembath

Customers will have "a better experience" following the completion of a $3 million, five-month upgrade of McDonald's Kirrawee, says the franchisee.

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The old kitchen was gutted and the number of production lines doubled.

New toilets and play place were installed, along with a coffee-making counter, with baristas working on state-of-the-art machines close to customers.

A separate room where delivery drivers and riders can pick up orders more efficiently is another new feature.

The new coffee counter at McDonald's Kirrawee. Picture by Murray Trembath

The footprint and shell of the restaurant are unchanged, but there are "10 to 5" more indoor seats and a reduced number outside.

The indoor decor has been refreshed, while the exterior has been modernised with aluminium cladding.

Drive-thru lanes remain the same.

Both the restaurant and drive-thru were back in operation on Friday afternoon June 19 after a full closure for three weeks earlier in the year, followed by alternative closures.

Louie Treffiletti, franchise owner of McDonald's Kirrawee with Oliver Todd (restaurant manager) and Lily Shepherd (assistant restaurant manager). Picture by Murray Trembath

On July 25, there will be "a grand reopening" for the community, with special guests Ronald McDonald, Grimace and attractions such as face painting and balloon making.

Franchise owner Louie Treffiletti said the five-month disruption had been "hell," but the results were worth it.

"My biggest motivation was to redesign the kitchen to give us more capacity to serve out customers faster, because we got to certain points where we locked up and couldn't produce certain products fast enough," he said.

"We have four production lines now, whereas we used to have two, so we can cook more food faster in order to also make the service faster, which will give customers a better experience."

Mr Treffiletti said the outlet served "about 2500 to 3500 customers a day".

Mr Treffiletti started working for McDonald's when he was 15, and 40 years later is the franchise owner of seven of the chain's restaurants in St George and Sutherland Shire.

Finishing touches are applied to the exterior of McDonald's Kirrawee. Picture by Murray Trembath

He spent the first 20 years in corporate head office roles before buying the Rockdale and Rockdale Plaza franchises.

In 2019, he bought the Kirrawee franchise from Frank Tagg, a pioneer of McDonald's in the shire who later open Mavericks at Caringbah.

Mr Treffiletti said he "still loves it", and believes McDonald's is a great place for young people to gain experience working under pressure in a team with a process that makes them "super productive".

"Yes, it can be stressful for a 14-year-old on a Friday night keeping up with demand, but it teaches them resilience, gives them the experience of working in a team and allows them to work on their time management skills," he said.

"It's no different to playing A grade soccer - you still have that same pressure to perform and be successful."

Restaurant manager Oliver Todd began working at the outlet when he was a 14-year-old student at Kirrawee High School.

He is studying business management at university while managing the outlet.