JUPITER — A Jupiter landmark built more than 40 years ago — when the town was about 50,000 residents smaller and much of Indiantown Road had only two lanes — is getting a makeover.
The red-and-brown Wendy’s on Indiantown near Jupiter High School will be torn down and replaced with a modern, earth-toned version of the fast-food restaurant. Crews will also close its one-way entrance and build a dedicated driveway directly from Wendy’s to Town Hall.
The Wendy’s was built in 1982, before two members of the Town Council were born. The council prohibited fast-food restaurants in its area eight years later but allowed Wendy’s to stay.
“That is a very old and tired building now,” said council member Andy Fore before he and his colleagues approved the renovation plans on Feb. 18. “I like that this is getting replaced with something newer.”
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A similar plan in 2017 to demolish the Wendy’s and replace it with an updated building never came to fruition.
Mayor Jim Kuretski said the rebuilding of Wendy’s represents a trend that may continue: older businesses along Indiantown Road updating their looks. Kuretski moved to Palm Beach Gardens in 1982 and then to Jupiter a decade later. At the time Wendy’s was built, sections of Indiantown Road were only two lanes, he said. Traffic moved slowly.
“We ventured up to the Indiantown Road area and I said to my wife, ‘We’d never move to a place that has traffic like this,’ ” Kuretski, who is seeking reelection next month, said with a chuckle. “From the moment I moved to Jupiter, I was looking for traffic solutions.”
The Wendy’s opened five years before council member Cameron May was born. May, who also is running for mayor on March 11, remembers Indiantown Road as a small street lined with Australian pine trees while he was growing up in the 1990s. There wasn’t development along it like what is there now, he said.
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Rendering of a renovated Wendy’s along Indiantown Road in Jupiter, Fla.
Craig McDonald, the agent for the project, said construction will take four months. The Wendy’s team wants to start in May or June, with the goal of re-opening in October.
The new building will be around 400 square feet smaller with less seating inside. However, crews will add a new outdoor seating area so the new restaurant will have about the same capacity as the old, according to McDonald.
Crews will also reconfigure the parking and drive-through area to help drivers avoid getting stuck in parking spots when the pickup line grows long.
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In an interview in January, McDonald told The Palm Beach Post his team will determine the cost of the project during a bidding process in April. The renovation is not a part of the company’s new “global next gen” design, but has a look to match the style of other newer buildings in Jupiter, he said.
The Wendy’s will also get a new sidewalk that leads to the nearby bus stop and more landscaping. Crews also will bury the power lines on site. Its dumpster and cooler freezer area will be demolished, with the dumpster moved to another area shielded from view along Indiantown.
May said he wants the town to consider giving cash grants or tax breaks to the business owners with shops along the road to beautify their buildings. Kuretski said the town has a grant program for business owners and it hasn’t had enough applicants lately.
“There’s some updating that definitely needs to be done,” May said. “This (project) is going to provide a nice aesthetically pleasing restaurant right there at the Town Hall campus.”
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Maya Washburn covers northern Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida-Network. Reach her at mwashburn@pbpost.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Wendy’s in Jupiter that opened more than 40 years ago to get makeover
