The fast food restaurant was one of the last facilities left open on the US Naval Air Station before it was closed on September 1.

And in a random street poll, The Royal Gazette found that the majority of those asked would like to see McDonalds re-opened.

Their reasons varied, including the fact that the service is fast and the food is inexpensive.

Mr. Sacomo Trott, 19, said: "McDonalds serves fast food. You do not get a lot of that down here. In most places you have to wait too long for your food.'' Northlands student Jepheth Newton, who is all for having McDonalds return to the Island, said: "It sells cheap food''.

Five-year-old Emily Rowe, a student of Bermuda High School for Girls, summed up the argument put forth by most kids that want McDonalds back by saying "the food tastes good''.

Some people, like Mrs. Jean Smith, of Federal Express, said they were "not that keen on McDonalds''.

But she added: "Why not, you have Kentucky Fried Chicken, and the kids like it.'' A few Bermudians like Mr. Rick Thompson, the owner of Island Cleaning Service, had never experienced a "Big Mac attack'' and had never visited the Base restaurant.

And there were some people opposed to bringing McDonalds back to the Island.

said: "It would open the door to other franchises,'' said management consultant Mrs. Elizabeth Virgo. "The charm of Bermuda is that it is not spoiled by that type of business and besides, most of the profits would leave the Island.'' Asked if they would like to see other types of fast food chains on the Island, a majority were not in favour of the idea.

Engineer Mr. Andrew Richardson, 27, expressed the sentiment of many polled, saying: "Bermuda has enough Bermudian-owned places''.

Mr. Thompson added: "We do not need them. We have quaint, unique restaurants and we should support them.'' Mr. Lincoln Raynor's reason for not wanting other types of fast food chains on the Island was that the "prices would be too expensive, just like Kentucky Fried Chicken''.

However, collections manager Mr. Oliver Trott, 47, said Bermuda "needs to open up and change the franchise laws to make it possible for the middle-class man to get into franchises and make some money''.

There is no law prohibiting franchises in Bermuda. However, there are policies under the 1981 Companies Act which make it difficult to set up franchises.

For instance, in order to operate in Bermuda any company must be at least 60 percent Bermudian owned and the foreign partner may only act as a investor. He or she cannot participate in the operation of the business.

Also to establish a company in Bermuda, owners must apply to the Minister of Finance for a permit. But before the permit is granted, the Minister must consider the agreement between the Bermudian and non-Bermudian partners and the impact on other local businesses in the same field.

According to Government Information Services, most of the franchise agreements the Ministry has examined indicate that the foreign partners would be participating in the operation of the enterprise. Also, all the Ministers of Finance to date have decided that local businesses need to be protected from franchises.

Bermuda had also historically discouraged franchises because there was concern that franchise fees, paid in foreign currency, would be a drain on Bermuda funds. There was also concern that the Island would lose its British image and that it should not be promoting foreign franchises.