Street groups hold march to commemorate Rideau Street McDonald’s

To many people in Ottawa, the Rideau Street McDonald’s restaurant is best known for it’s often-rowdy clientele, and particularly, for a rowdy dustup between groups a few years ago when one man inexplicably pulled a baby raccoon from inside his jacket and waved it around.

While there has been no specific date for the closing, the realty company that owns the building has confirmed the restaurant franchisee has chosen not to renew the lease that expires this summer.

For many young street people, for all of its problems, the troubled restaurant provided cheap eats and brief shelter.

“I read (about the closing) and I thought somebody ought to make a thing out of this,” said Keith De Silva-Legault, who helped organize a downtown march Sunday to commemorate the closing.

“So I brought it up to some friends at a bar and we decided we were gonna do it.”

The group has organized a non-perishable food drive to benefit the Shepherds of Good Hope, as well as a fundraiser for groups that assists young people in the streets, such as Operation Go Home.

Organizers had provided a number of fundraising incentives. For example, organizer De Silva-Legault agreed to dress as Ronald McDonald if $1,500 was raised.

“I also have to jump into the Ottawa River (but) not today,” he said in the deep cold.

Organizers has intended to leave plush raccoon dolls to commemorate the restaurant’s unofficial mascot.

That plan was inexplicably dropped.