Acting junior Roman Losa waited 42 minutes for his food at the new McDonald’s location on Guadalupe Street during its soft opening on Monday. He said the wait did not bother him because he was excited to be there on its first day, even if it could have meant waiting hours in line.

“I’ve been keeping track of the construction,” Losa said. “As soon as I saw them put the metal panels on the side, I just fell to my knees, and I’ve been excited since that day.”

Long lines of students formed outside of the new location into the early hours of the morning. Losa said he learned about the opening date a few days earlier and was excited to visit the new location of the popular franchise.

“I think it’s purposefully targeting the college demographic, and I’m falling victim to that, so I do think it will be very busy,” Losa said while waiting in line.

Kenway Brown, a crew member and cashier, attributed the long lines to employees adjusting to the restaurant’s layout on its first day. Brown had trained and worked at another McDonald’s location for a month before the opening and said employees were not accustomed to the new equipment, citing differences between the two stores’ drink machines.

“We were busy all day,” Brown said. “We had people lined up to the back at 3 a.m. We didn’t have a pause until 3 a.m.”

Despite the long lines, Brown said he enjoyed how busy the restaurant was during its first day.

“I have never experienced opening a new store,” Brown said. “But I would definitely do it all over again.”

While Brown embraced the opening-day rush, Gihanna Burrowes, a health and society junior, said she was concerned about crowding inside the new store.

“It’s really packed,” Burrowes said. “I think they’re really understaffed, and I understand, but I think that McDonald’s should have hired more people or had more people transfer in to work at this location, considering it’s right off of a college campus, and it’s the only one that’s (within) walking distance from campus.”

Burrowes said she expects the lines to die down once the restaurant settles into regular operations.

“Maybe it was just this bad because it was the first day,” Burrowes said. “I don’t think it’ll be this bad on the regular.”

April Guillen, a health and society junior, said it was cool to see students excited for something new near campus.

“I was always wanting a McDonald’s on campus,” Guillen said. “(It’s) something convenient or cheap for students.”