Wendy’s back in business on N. Prospect
CHAMPAIGN – All those suffering from Wendy’s withdrawal can once again get a Frosty fix on North Prospect.
The Wendy’s Old-Fashioned Hamburgers store at 2033 N. Prospect Ave., C, reopened Tuesday after an 18-month absence.
“It was a quiet opening, but not a quiet opening,” said Joseph Francois, president of the Wendnormal franchise that now operates the store. “We thought we’d ease our way into it, but people were watching the marquee and came as soon as we put up the ‘open Tuesday’ sign.”
Word spread quickly that Wendy’s opened about 10:45 a.m., and at times Tuesday as many as 50 people lined up inside the store, Francois said. Some people had to wait as long as 30 minutes for food, but Francois said the customers seemed patient.
And if Wendy’s patrons are really patient, their wait may be well-rewarded. Francois said the franchise plans to open two or three more Wendy’s stores in Champaign-Urbana and two more in Bloomington-Normal in addition to the one already open on College Avenue in Normal.
It’ll take a while to determine sites for the new stores, but Francois said he hopes to open them all within three years.
Customers will notice some differences at the North Prospect store, which was gutted to make way for a dining room that seats 84. The serving area is equipped with not one, but two “double-barreled” Frosty machines (one barrel for vanilla, the other for chocolate) to accommodate the expected volume.
“We spent about a half-million dollars on remodeling alone,” Francois said.
There are some menu additions since Wendy’s was last in town. The fast-food restaurant now offers “go wrap” sandwiches with various fillings, as well as twisted Frostys with Oreos or M&Ms blended in.
In about six weeks, Francois said, the restaurant will offer Frosty shakes that include vanilla bean, strawberry or dark chocolate syrup.
The Wendnormal franchise is owned by Lewis Topper, a New York investor who owns 316 Wendy’s across the country. The franchise opened a Wendy’s in Springfield in January 2007 and sold it to another franchisee in November. The Normal restaurant opened in April 2007.
Francois, who heads the new franchise, formerly worked 18 years in Bloomington-Normal for WenAmerica, the company that once held the Wendy’s franchise in Champaign-Urbana.
WenAmerica – which also had restaurants in other parts of central Illinois and Missouri – ran into financial trouble in 2006, closed restaurants and ended up in bankruptcy. Gaining possession of the restaurant properties was one reason it took so long to re-establish Wendy’s in this region, Francois said.
Wendnormal began applying for permits for the North Prospect location in December, but didn’t begin demolition work until the second week of March, he said.
Dublin, Ohio-based Wendy’s International has had its own changes lately. On Thursday, the company agreed to merge with Triarc Corp., the franchisor for Arby’s. That puts Wendy’s 6,600 restaurants under the same corporate umbrella as 3,700 Arby’s restaurants.
The Wendy’s dining room on North Prospect will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., with the drive-through open until midnight, Francois said. The restaurant employs about 54 people, about 20 percent of them full-time, he said. Diane Christenson is the general manager.