Reading Select Board Approves McDonald's Early Opening, Adopts Fire Department Fee Schedule

Select Board · Meeting of September 9, 2025

Reading Select Board unanimously approves McDonald's early opening and fire department fee schedule. The board voted 4-0 Tuesday to allow McDonald's at 413 Main Street to open its indoor dining area at 5 a.m., one hour earlier than its current opening, while holding the drive-through to its existing 6 a.m. start, citing noise concerns for nearby residents; the board adopted the same restriction it previously applied to another early-opening applicant. A second 4-0 vote adopted an updated fire department permit fee schedule presented by Fire Chief Anthony Muse.

The Reading Food Pantry, which distributed 15,219 bags of food to more than 4,000 residents in 2024 and now serves as many as 400 residents per month, formally asked the board to consider the Pleasant Street Center as its permanent home, with Board President Sean Tesoro citing the building's central location, existing kitchen infrastructure, and expanded accessibility; Town Manager Matthew Cornelius noted any lease would require a formal RFP process. The board also held its first public information session on proposed charter changes, including raising the recall petition threshold from 250 signatures to roughly 420, 2 percent of the town's approximately 21,000 registered voters.

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Source: the Select Board meeting of September 9, 2025, reported from the official video recording and transcript.