(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-02-25 13:53

"We're here two, three times a week," Waldo Alfaro said as he munched on a Filet-O-Fish and a salad. "It's relaxing, you don't feel any pressure here."

Nevermind that this is the same McDonald's that's been vilified by critics over its artery-clogging Big Macs and fries.

The buzz about the feng shui McDonald's is starting to attract curious onlookers.

"It's successful as a design. It's got a very clean, open, airy appearance," said Elaine Bjorklund, a professor emerita of cultural geography at the University of Western Ontario in Canada, who was in town visiting a friend.

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"I'm not a McDonald's habituee," she added as she snapped pictures of the dining area. "It would be interesting to see if this trend will spread."

Brownstein said he and his partners chose the feng shui makeover because the restaurant is located near a renowned Buddhist temple, which is considered good luck. The designs were meant to appeal to the area's growing Asian population, but were also done in a way that would help all customers tap their inner Zen.

With the help of a feng shui master, the designers added details that only feng shui practitioners could appreciate. They include positioning the doors in a way that would block out bad spirits while keeping good ones inside, Clifford said.

The eight rows of red tiles near the food counter are another symbol of fortune, because the number eight is considered auspicious, she said. Meanwhile, the metal sculptures of a crane and Koi fish adorning one wall represent fertility and prosperity, she said.

Clifford said she made the nearly fatal mistake of putting 44 seats in the dining area, until she learned that feng shui followers consider the number four a symbol of bad luck. So she added an extra seat to make it 45.

"Few people would notice it, but if you're in the know, you'll say 'Oh my God, that's terrible,'" she said.

She went as far as staggering the grout lines in the tiles rather than keeping them straight.

"You want to have obstacles in life, it makes you grow," she explained.

While the menu remains the same, there is a McCafe offering lattes and gourmet coffee drinks.

When McDonald's restaurants in Europe upgraded their decor several years ago by adding hardwood floors, armchairs, TVs and other enhancements, sales went up, Brownstein said.

He said business has picked up at his restaurant too.

Other franchise owners are taking notice. Clifford said her company has been hired to feng shui two more McDonald's in Southern California.

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