McDonald's to open in Hadsten as franchisee's 16th restaurant

Favrskov Municipality in Denmark is set to get its first McDonald's when a new restaurant near motorway junction 44 at Hadsten opens as planned on 17 December 2026. It will be franchisee Michael John Munk Kristiansen's 16th restaurant and will employ 50–60 people, according to a report published by local newspaper Din Avis on 4 September.

First restaurant in Favrskov

The new McDonald's will be located near the motorway junction for Hadsten, making it the chain's first outlet in Favrskov Municipality. The opening date was provided by Michael John Munk Kristiansen, the franchisee behind the development.

The restaurant will have a footprint of 494 square metres. According to the report, it will be built to what McDonald's calls its ‘new Nordic standard’. Din Avis describes it as a relatively large McDonald's restaurant, but the available material provides no details on seating capacity or the interior layout.

For the franchise community, the opening is noteworthy because it both extends the chain's Danish presence into a new municipality and expands an existing franchisee's portfolio. This is not a new partner setting up their first restaurant. The project is being led by an operator who already has extensive experience of running multiple restaurants under the same brand.

The motorway location and stated size provide concrete details about the project. However, the source offers no basis for assessing the restaurant's expected turnover, customer numbers or impact on other places to eat in the area.

An experienced franchisee expands

With the Hadsten opening, Michael John Munk Kristiansen's portfolio will comprise five restaurants in Odense and 11 in Jutland. Din Avis describes him as one of McDonald's larger franchisees and reports that he oversees well over 1,000 employees.

There is also a personal connection to the chain behind the forthcoming opening. He first worked at McDonald's while attending upper secondary school. According to the report, he retained his ambition to become a franchisee even after spending several years away from the company.

That background makes the Hadsten development a story of an existing partnership continuing to grow. The expansion is taking place within an organisation that already operates restaurants in both Odense and Jutland. It also offers a practical example of how existing restaurants can support preparations: they will be used to train some of the new staff.

The information gives no indication of any further openings after Hadsten. Restaurant number 16 is the specific expansion described, and no broader growth plan has been published in the available material.

50–60 staff to be recruited

The new restaurant will need a reported 50–60 employees. Recruitment is therefore a significant part of the preparations leading up to the December opening, rather than simply a task associated with opening day itself.

Michael John Munk Kristiansen told Din Avis that a number of full-time employees will initially be trained at some of his existing restaurants. Training will therefore take place at operating sites before the employees start work in Hadsten.

This is a concrete example of collaboration within a franchise network: a new restaurant is being prepared with the help of the experience and operational settings already available within the franchisee's business. It is not just the concept that is shared across locations. Training also creates a link between the existing restaurants and the forthcoming opening.

No breakdown of full-time and part-time roles among the 50–60 staff has been provided. Nor does the report set out a detailed recruitment timetable or the length of the training programmes.

Training is part of the opening plan

The Hadsten project brings together three clear elements: a new local outlet, an experienced franchisee and a substantial recruitment requirement. The most tangible insight into the preparations is the decision to use existing restaurants for training.

For others in the Danish franchise community, the link between staffing and opening is particularly relevant in practical terms. A public opening date tells customers when they can expect to visit. The training plan gives an indication of the work that needs to happen beforehand.

Practical takeaway: Recruitment and training should be included early in the planning of a new franchise opening. Hadsten offers a concrete model in which existing operating sites are used to prepare staff for the new location.