Big changes in store for Dayton-area Wendy's restaurants

If your local Wendy's looks like it did three years ago, there's a good chance that's going to change soon.

A local Wendy’s franchisee is moving ahead with its plans to perform significant makeovers to several of its Dayton-area restaurants, including one in the city of Dayton that reopened Friday after a six-week renovation and another in Huber Heights that was bulldozed last week ahead of a complete rebuild.

RELATED: Wendy’s reopens after big makeover in Kettering; more on the way (December 2016)

The Wendy’s restaurant at 3420 Salem Ave. north of Good Samaritan Hospital was shut down in mid-May, gutted and extensively remodeled, according to Kevin Morris, director of operations for MUY! Hamburger Partners, the franchise group that operates 31 Wendy’s restaurants across the Miami Valley. The restaurant reopened Friday, June 30.

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The next project has already begun, and it’s even more ambitious: the Wendy’s at 7435 Brandt Pike (Ohio 201) in Huber Heights has been razed to the ground, and will be rebuilt on the same site, Morris told this news outlet. The project could last us long as 4 months, he said.

RELATED: Fast-food chains engage in extreme makeovers (July 2014)

The two restaurants are the ninth and 10th Wendy’s across the region to receive either an extensive renovation or a complete rebuild. More are on the drawing board, Morris said.

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The Wendy’s remodels are part of a broader brand transformation to a new logo and signage launched in 2013 by the fast-food burger chain. The new stores also feature digital menu boards, flat-screen televisions and Wi-Fi, among other amenities. Company officials have said the company’s re-designed restaurants sell more food, with higher check averages and customer counts.

Several other fast-food chains are making similar investments, renovating and in some cases razing and rebuilding their aging restaurants. Many of those existing restaurants are three or four decades old, are not energy efficient, and their layouts hinder effective customer service, especially in the increasingly important drive-through windows.

RELATED: Wendy’s on Far Hills Avenue shuts down abruptly (December 2014)

In a closure that was not related to a planned renovation, the Wendy’s restaurant near the Dayton Mall remains closed today nearly three weeks after a small fire traced to a thermostat damaged a wall and part of the restaurant’s floor.

EARLIER: Small fire shuts down Wendy’s near Dayton Mall

“We are hoping to have that opened again by end of the week,” Morris told this new outlet today, July 5.

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About the Author

Mark Fisher

Mark Fisher, a 1981 graduate of Ohio State University and a 1976 graduate of Beavercreek High School, is a third-generation Dayton-area resident who has worked for the Dayton Daily News since 1983. He covered higher education and K-12 education accountability issues for nearly 20 years before taking over the food and dining beat in 2006.