Wendy's Plans to Relocate Duluth Restaurant to Prime Pleasant Hill Parcel

Last month ToNeTo Atlanta exclusively reported on the plans of Meritage Hospitality Group to renovate, rebuild and replace a number of Atlanta area Wendy's restaurants.  ToNeTo Atlanta can now confirm that Meritage plans to relocate their existing Duluth area restaurant. 

The current Wendy's in Duluth

The current Wendy's restaurant is located at 3655 Club Drive in an outparcel of The Promenade at Pleasant Hill, a Publix anchored shopping center.   The new Wendy's will be built at 1625 Pleasant Hill Road and would replace the existing restaurant.  The two parcels are each outparcels of The Promenade shopping center, but the new site provides far better visibility and customer access.  Work on the new Wendy's was previously expected to start this month, but has been pushed to January.

Whereas the existing Wendy's is located essentially behind QuikTrip, and primarily accessible from Club Drive, the new Wendy's will be located beside QuikTrip and be primarily accessible from Pleasant Hill Road.  The new Wendy's will be situated on land currently used as excess parking for the nearby LA Fitness and adjacent Fung Mei Chinese restaurant.  

When Wendy's does relocate, its former building will join a former Arby's nearby as vacant restaurants on the Club Drive portion of the center.  

The existing Wendy's marked by the "X," the new Wendy's marked by the "0"

Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Meritage Hospitality Group is one of the largest Wendy's franchisees in the country, and has been in the Wendy’s franchise system for nearly 40 years.  Meritage operates over 175 units in eight states, including about 40 Wendy's in Georgia.

Meritage's Atlanta operations include the recently rebuilt Wendy's on South Cobb Drive in Smyrna.  The new restaurant, which sports the chain's latest "image activation" design, opened earlier this month.   

The company started a similar rebuilding effort at their 2676 Windy Hill restaurant October 23. This rebuilding effort will follow similar moves by neighboring eateries McDonald's and Chick-fil-A, both of whom demolished and rebuilt their restaurants in the past eighteen months.  A Meritage representative indicated to ToNeTo Atlanta that the Windy Hill restaurant should reopen late February/early March 2018.    

The new Windy Hill restaurant will also be built as part of the company's "Image Activation" design program, and is also expected to sport Wendy's new "Smart 55 Design."  This restaurant has a capacity of 55 guests. "The guest-facing front-of-house includes state of the art features designed to maximize the guest experience.  Features include a fireplace, open ceiling with up-lighting, flat-screen TV's, complimentary Wi-Fi, and Coca-Cola Freestyle machines. Additionally, the open kitchen is designed to provide guests a unique inside look at their food being made from scratch."

The Windy Hill and Pleasant Hill Wendy's should look like this 

In addition to the Windy Hill and Pleasant Hill Wendy's, Meritage also plans to "refresh" its existing restaurant on Memorial Drive in DeKalb County.  The restaurant, at 4643 Memorial Drive, is located just outside the perimeter, and will likely receive elements of the company's "image activation" program.  The work on Memorial Drive is expected to begin in January and last 5 to 8 weeks.  

Meritage also plans to demolish and rebuild their restaurant on North Druid Hills Road in an outparcel of Toco Hills Shopping Center.  The restaurant, originally built in 1978, still sports many elements of the chain's old design elements, and its planned rebuilding is a welcome sign of the company's confidence in the Toco Hills market.  

Are you excited for the upcoming renovations and rebuilds that Meritage has planned for their local Wendy's restaurants?  What is your favorite quick-serve burger?  Who do you think serves the best fries?

Please share your thoughts below.   

Don't forget to follow ToNeTo Atlanta on Instagram (@TONETOATL) for update photos, special coverage and other fun stuff. 

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