Monday evenings under the golden arches of a McDonald's in Pikesville, a troupe of tie-and-jacketed crooners entertains a sitting-room-only crowd of aging, adoring fans. Headlined by Gary "The Singing Stockbroker" Richman, gentlemen and ladies take turns singing tunes from Sinatra to ... Sinatra. Diners sing or toe tap along, very slow dance in the aisle, or quietly sip their McDonald's coffee and nibble their grilled chicken sandwich. They come at 5:30 p.m. every Monday for dinner and a show.
It's the Copacabana McDonald's.
It's McCopa.
"It's a happening!" says Richman, the crew leader, the man in the fedora singing "The Lady is a Tramp" well behind a Happy Meals Transformers display. Richman, who a few years ago was singing at an Italian restaurant in Canton, has since built a "A Night at the Copa" rat pack, a Saturday-night radio show on WVIE-AM, and a local touring schedule that stops Mondays in Pikesville.
This week was the group's 80th appearance at the McDonald's, and they were all there: Richman with his indestructible enthusiasm (and whiskey prop glass), and his singing, belly-dancing wife, Holly (by day, an Outreach Zoomobile instructor at the Maryland Zoo). There was Mickey "Baltimore's Own Blue Eyes" Light, and Steve "The Singing Baloney Salesman" Earle. Announcer Stan Plotkin and "Beloved Baltimore radio and TV personality" Eddie Applefeld were also in the house, among others. To mark the 80th, the men wore tuxedos and fedoras.
"Gary should go in the Mafia," said Peggy Matz from Pikesville, impressed with Richman's sartorial swagger. She's a groupie, no other way to say it. She waited for the show to begin - and waited to order her usual sundae.
She and the rest of the Pikesville crowd come early to get seats up front. They stay late - sometimes to 7 p.m. - to hear their favorite songs from their favorite singers at this McDonald's across from a Shell station on Reisterstown Road. There are about 13,800 McDonald's restaurants in the country, where billions are served with an occasional bingo night or book-club gathering mixed in - but not entertained like the Monday crowds here. Typically, the crowd is 50 to 75 people, but they've had as many as 175 people come out to what locals call the "Gucci McDonald's."
