Infamous McDonald's dubbed 'McStabby's' now serving customers through a hatch
Seattle Police are aware of the area's crime rates
A McDonald’s restaurant in the United States is now allegedly serving fast-food through a hatch due to reported incidents outside of the venue.
If you head to the downtown Seattle area, and walk to the corner of 3rd Avenue and Pine Street, you’ll find a McDonald’s restaurant locals nickname 'McStabby’s’, as per the Daily Mail.
A hatch covered in plexiglass is said to be in operation - this is where customers order, pay and receive their food. It’s also understood that plywood is in place to deter vandals.
The fast-food eatery’s dining room has been unavailable to sit in since 2020, initially closing to comply with COVID-19 restrictions.
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The eatery's hatch door is reportedly propped open at all time.
According to a 45-year-old local named Nick, the restaurant’s sorry state is the result of people reportedly ‘tend to do drugs and attack each other’ outside of the Seattle establishment.
It’s this alleged violence which is presumably where the ‘McStabby’s’ moniker stems from.
"When it’s dark, it’s way worse - way more people getting assaulted and robbed,” he told the Daily Mail.
He claimed to the publication that he once ‘watched a girl get shot and killed’ outside of the building.
“It was a horrible shooting,” he added.
Nick also referred to witnessing a fatal incident which killed one woman and injured seven back in January 2020, the outlet said.
At the time of the incident, Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best told USA Today that officers responded ‘immediately’ and discovered victims at the scene ‘in about a one-block radius’.
"Officers immediately started lifesaving measures.”
An employee of the hatch-based McDonald’s, which is located in an area known as The Blade, told the Daily Mail that he’d seen ‘physical assaults’ outside of the location, adding he’d witnessed ‘people tripping out, just a bunch of stuff’.
David Santillanes, who owns the Seattle-based branch, told The Independent that he has ‘implemented security measures at [the] location to allow [him] to keep supporting the neighbourhood while ensuring the safety’ of other people.
Santillanes and his team are actively involved in the community, with the franchise owner opening a Seattle Centre location in March 2024.
At the grand unveiling, the team presented a $25,000 check to Mary's Place, a family shelter that helps unhoused women and children in Seattle.
The organisation's team members also support and volunteer with Seattle nonprofit, Gifts of Hope, and engage regularly with local law enforcement, educators, parents and youth in the community.
“Despite the challenges in this particular area, we will continue doing what we can to effect positive change, working in close partnership with local community organisations," Santillanes added.
Seattle as a whole has experienced 80 cases of violent crime, including about 50 aggravated assaults in the first 20 days of 2026, as per the Seattle Police Department.
Last year, there were 3,145 aggravated assaults, almost 1,440 robberies, 30 murders, and more than 380 cases of rape.
The police department told FOODbible that officers are often participating in ‘proactive policework’ in crime hotspots, such as 3rd Avenue and Pine Street when not ‘responding to emergency calls for service’.
This includes bike patrols, foot beats, warrant arrests, weapons arrests, and drug enforcement.
Ella Scott