Say goodbye to old Wendy’s, hello to new Wendy’s

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Originally published 12:53 p.m., January 8, 2008
Updated 12:53 p.m., January 8, 2008

Demolition began this morning on Wendy’s Old-Fashion Hamburgers at 701 W. Sixth Ave., but the business will remain. A new building on the site is expected to be completed in the spring.

“We’re going to tear down the whole building,” said Holly Cutting, a supervisor with Sunset Equities of McPherson, which owns both Emporia Wendy’s locations. “The building is in dire need. When we say ‘extreme makeover,’ we mean extreme.”

The new store will be slightly larger than the previous building. Wendy’s was closed several weeks ago. The sign out front said it was closed for remodeling. Instead, the building is being razed and replaced.

Cutting said the front portion of the building had leaks, making it unusable, and there were other functional and efficiency issues as well. Asbestos removal has been underway before the building can be taken down.

The new store will be longer and narrower than the existing store, with a dining room that is a little longer and a much larger stock room.

“It will be a major investment, and it’ll have all-new everything,” she said.

She expects the new restaurant will have digital menu boards inside, with order confirmations, rotating photos and other enhancements as options for the display.

“We’re looking at putting in some brand-new technology,” Cutting said.

The company is hoping that the handful of employees who were displaced by the current building’s closing will return when the new restaurant opens.

“We transferred as many employees as we could over to our Industrial (Road) location,” she said.

Approximately five or six employees could not be accommodated there and have taken jobs that she hopes are temporary.

“Some will come back; they’ll come back when we re-open,” Cutting said.

The West Sixth restaurant holds a special place for Cutting and her father, Gary Reiman, who owns the McPherson company.

“He actually was a manager in that store,” she said, mentioning the late Francis Walters, who owned the stores before he died in 2005. “He and Francis were friends. They kind of came up together.

“When I was a little kid, I used to come up there when he was working in that store. We have a lot of sentiment in that store also.”