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Courtney and Mike Feehan, of Lansing, have purchased the 198 Grant Ave. and 357 Genesee St. restaurants in the fast food chain, they announced in a news release Wednesday. As owners of the Cayuga Restaurant Group, the Feehans already own six McDonald's restaurants in the Ithaca area and the Southern Tier.

"We are proud to make this announcement and to now be a part of the Auburn community. We pride ourselves on our hands-on approach to operating our McDonald’s restaurants, and we will bring this same high standard of quality to Auburn," Courtney Feehan said in the release. "Every day, we look for ways to maximize the opportunities our McDonald’s restaurants present us to give back to the community, employ local people, and grow. We look forward to meeting longtime customers and seeing new faces at our locations on Grant Avenue and Genesee Street."

The Feehans said they plan to remodel the Grant Avenue McDonald's and rebuild the Genesee Street one in the near future. In July, the Auburn Planning Board approved the demolition of the Genesee Street building and the construction of a new 4,900-square-foot restaurant with two drive-thru lanes. The new building will be 1,200 square feet smaller.

The Feehans have overseen the rebuilding of the McDonald's on Elmira Road in Ithaca, and the remodeling of the McDonald's on North Triphammer Road in Ithaca and North Main Street in Elmira. The restaurants now offer self-service beverage areas, dual-lane drive-thrus, self-ordering kiosks, digital counter and drive-thru menu boards, and the ability to place and pay for orders with the McDonald's app. The upgrades required the addition of 20 to 30 new crew member jobs, as well as the creation of a new guest experience leader position, the Feehans said.

The Feehans have hosted community events like Girl Scout cooking badge programs and Coffee with a Cop at their McDonald's locations, and offer the chain's Archways to Opportunity program to all eligible crew members. The program's resources include college tuition reimbursement, English education and more.

"To me, McDonald’s isn’t just about serving great food to customers, but also about serving the entire community," Feehan said. "These restaurants are a space for people to come together."

For more information about the Feehans and Cayuga Restaurant Group, visit .