McCafe McDonald’s coffee row on Channel Nine’s ‘The Block’
Residents living around ‘The Block’ are angry after a makeshift McCafe across the street suddenly stopped serving free coffee – and complaints are growing about trads parking in front of their driveways.
The McDonald’s McCafe is built on the front porch of a house directly across the road from the houses being renovated for the hit reality series Channel Nine on Charming Street in Melbourne’s Hampton East.
The stall has been in place for the past seven weeks, handing out free drinks to craftsmen and residents alike until last week when the Macca’s benevolence for neighbors suddenly ended.
The controversy follows reports that neighbors are still angry over access to their homes being blocked by those working on the show.
Umbrellas and tables have been set up for artisans working on The Block. Locals are now banned from free coffee
Traditions enjoy a cool drink from the McCafe on Charming Street across the street from The Block
A McDonald’s source told the Daily Mail Australia that Bayside Council staff had told them to stop serving the public immediately.
“The council said McDonald’s can’t serve the neighbors because someone clicked to the council…so one person basically closed it to everyone,” the source said.
On Monday, McCafe staff were busy handing out drinks to a sea of orange vests.
Neighbors told Daily Mail Australia they were disappointed with the decision to ban them from the McCafe.
“It was a great meeting point to not only meet other neighbours, but talk to the workers and find out what was happening to The Block,” said one neighbor.
Another neighbor claimed no one had any problems with the McCafe and was shocked to learn they could no longer be served there.
So someone ruined it for all of us. That is very unfortunate,” said the resident.
Scott Cam hosts The Block
The Block as it looks from the McCafe across the street
The neighbor in the middle of the McNightmare told Daily Mail Australia that he had lodged a complaint with Bayside Council after learning McDonald’s built the McCafe without any form of permit.
The neighbor claimed he was told by city officials that McCafe didn’t need a license because it didn’t charge for its products.
In correspondence seen by Daily Mail Australia, a Bayside Council official stated that the McCafe did not fall within the definition of a food and beverage establishment.
“This is because (as we now understand) they don’t sell coffee to customers. If money is exchanged, a building permit may be required,’ says the staff member.
‘Moreover, the signage does not fall under company identification signage and therefore no permit is required.’
Traditions have come under fire for illegal parking around The Block in Hampton
This letter from Channel Nine to the residents of Charming Street went down the wrong way
A truck that helped build The Block parked in front of a fire hydrant
The disgruntled neighbor said Bayside Council had opened the floodgates for other like-minded corporate giants to pull similar stunts within the council.
‘So it seems fair game that I can rent out my front garden for a few months to a legal entity for their advertising. Give away special offers for free, post company signage and umbrellas, and don’t have to buy insurance for the general public who come on my land in case they get hurt or injured,” he said.
“Would be good side income for any Bayside resident knowing they can do this with their property.”
Bayside Council did not respond to Daily Mail Australia in time for publication and Channel Nine declined to comment.
On Sunday, a resident near the filming location shared their anger after one of ‘The Block’ stars ‘illegally’ blocked access to their private driveway. The community member shared a photo of the incident on the 2023 Charming St ‘The Block’ Facebook page.”
The photo showed scaffolding and fencing around the grounds of ‘The Block’, along with several traditional vehicles parked in the street.
The Block creator and executive producer Julian Cress under fire for parking his $500,000 Porsche 911 Turbo S on the street
“This is right after I tried with The Block guys because a certain star illegally parked his car in the parking zone again, and because there was a car parked on our side of the street, it was impossible for me to get in. come up the driveway,” the resident declared.
“If you know the area, you can see that the car has moved to another part of the non-standing area. This was all after I emailed a few days ago [ago] to the builders and [executive producer] Julian Cress asked them to tell people not to. Come on guys… do better!’
In March, Daily Mail Australia reported that residents were angry with Cress himself after he parked his $500,000 Porsche in the street.
Some residents were also angry when Channel Nine asked them to move their car so that a 1950s commercial for the hit reality TV show could be filmed.
“The Channel Nine producers who handled it were nothing short of a joke,” said one resident.
“He literally told residents to move our cars, but he could park wherever he wanted.”