McDonald's in Surano: new restaurant and 40 new jobs

McDonald's has announced a new restaurant in Surano, on the SS275 main road in southern Salento, in Italy's Puglia region. According to a report published by L'Express Franchise on 25 September 2026, the opening is scheduled for Saturday 26 September. Run by licensee Silvestro Colitti, it will be the brand's fifth outlet in the province of Lecce and will create 40 new jobs, marking a tangible expansion of the local franchise sector.

The fifth restaurant in the province of Lecce

Location is a key feature of this opening: the Surano restaurant brings McDonald's presence in the province of Lecce to five outlets. The new site is on the SS275 main road in southern Salento, rather than in the city of Lecce itself.

The restaurant will be run by Silvestro Colitti, identified in the source as its licensee. This is a relevant detail for those following the franchise sector: alongside the international brand name, the report identifies the operator responsible for the local business. It does not, however, specify whether Colitti also runs other restaurants in the province.

The announcement therefore marks another step in the brand's presence in the Lecce area. It does not include plans for further openings or financial figures for the province. The fifth restaurant indicates the size of the local network, but this alone cannot establish its commercial performance or point to future expansion decisions.

Forty new jobs and local interest

The announcement states that the opening will create 40 new jobs. This is the main figure reported on its direct employment impact and gives a concrete indication of the planned team size at the new outlet.

The source does not specify the breakdown of roles, contract types or recruitment process. The figure should therefore be read at face value, rather than treated as evidence of vacancies still available or of undocumented working conditions. Anyone interested in employment opportunities should check separately whether recruitment is still open.

L'Express Franchise also reports that the brand's arrival has been met locally with curiosity and some reservations. However, it provides no attributed comments or details explaining these reactions. It would therefore be inaccurate to describe either widespread support or organised opposition. The available information points only to local interest in the new restaurant.

A 252-seat restaurant with McDrive and McCafé

The restaurant has 252 seats. Alongside the dining area, it features a dual-lane McDrive drive-through, a McCafé area for breakfast and refreshments, and a family space with children's play facilities. These are the features described in the announcement.

Together, they cater for several types of visit: dining in, ordering from a car, stopping for breakfast or a break, and visiting with children. This is an interpretation of the facilities announced, not a forecast of customer behaviour or the restaurant's performance.

The dual-lane McDrive should also be distinguished from operational results: the source confirms the layout, but provides no service times, traffic forecasts or figures on order-handling capacity. Similarly, the 252 seats represent the stated seating capacity, not the number of customers expected.

What to assess beyond the announcement

For the franchise sector, the Surano opening offers four verifiable reference points: location, operator, employment and facilities. These are useful for assessing a new outlet beyond the strength of its brand name. They establish where the restaurant is located, who runs it and which services it will offer the public.

The report does not cover the initial investment, total floor area, projected turnover or financial terms of the licensing agreement. The opening therefore cannot serve as a profitability benchmark for other projects. Moreover, the source dated 25 September presents the opening as imminent: it records the announced date, rather than confirming afterwards that trading has begun.

Practical takeaway: anyone considering a franchise project can use these details as an initial assessment framework, but should supplement the announcement with checks on costs, contracts and local demand before reaching a financial judgement.