Inside the $1 Million Fake McDonald’s Used in Commercials, Located in California

Anyone having a Big Mac attack should skip this Mickey D’s — it’s a McFake!

The fast-food flimflam sits in California’s City of Industry and it’s been used to film hundreds of McDonald’s commercials, a 1988 Los Angeles Times report claimed.

The so-called McStudio looks just like every other McDonald’s until you take a closer peek.

The grill works just fine, but it’s never turned on. The ceilings are slightly higher to accommodate Hollywood lighting and there are no prices on the menu board.

Downstairs there are dressing rooms complete with makeup mirrors and outside the McDonald’s sign rotates to face any direction.

The phony-baloney restaurant is located in an out-of-the-way industrial park and it’s completely surrounded by a fence to keep out looky-loos.

McDonald’s execs at the firm’s corporate headquarters decided to plunk down nearly $1 million back in 1978 to build it strictly as a spot to film commercials.

They came up with the idea after restaurants were forced to close down whenever the company wanted to film an ad and angry customers rebelled.

Some McFans reportedly ripped up free coupons handed out by apologetic employees while others tried to disrupt filming.

The original McStudio was reportedly demolished and new models were built over the years.

Currently, there are two McDonald’s onsite next door to each other. One looks like a suburban McDonald’s while the other looks like a city McDonald’s.

Being close to Tinseltown reportedly has one big plus for the burger giant. Film studios use the McStudio for free — meaning free publicity for McDonald’s!