Beacon Hill Wendy’s gets final approval from BOS
An old friend will soon be returning the northern end of the Richmond Highway corridor, as the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors gave its blessing to a plan to build a new Wendy’s at the Beacon Center at their meeting on Tuesday.
The Board voted unanimously to approve the 67-seat drive-through restaurant, which will be built on an open pad site fronting Richmond Highway and sitting between Famous Dave’s and TGI Friday’s. The pad site is currently parking spaces, and 52 spaces are expected to be removed to make room for the Wendy’s.
The Wendy’s will have 55 seats inside the restaurant, while 12 will be in a fenced-in patio area in the front of the building, according to county documents. The restaurant will have 15 dedicated parking spaces.
The new Wendy’s hours of operations will be from 10 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
The new Wendy’s replaces the location at Richmond Highway and Fairview Drive, which closed in the fall of 2017 after a new development was approved for the site.
Lee District Supervisor Jeff McKay supported the restaurant, saying the move made sense since the old Wendy’s was displaced.
“This is a vacant pad site that was never developed over the years by the Beacon Center … and will provide an interim home for a business that was displaced by another development,” McKay said.
The Wendy’s application was also supported by the Lee District Land Use Committee, the Southeast Fairfax Development Corporation and the Mount Vernon-Lee Chamber of Commerce.
A representative from Wendy’s did not respond to an email seeking information about when construction on the new restaurant was expected to begin.
Please please please give Richmond Highway some better eating choices! Sweet Greens, or a Korean Taco spot – something more fresh with less cholesterol. The highway is full of TGI Fridays, McDonalds, Dennys… and every other kind of fast food that is killing us. Chipotle is my only saving grace out there!
Note, this is “an interim home.”
Perhaps that’s because it could be displaced again due to Route 1 expansion for the BRT lanes.
Also, there are not enough pedestrian crossings in this area of Richmond Highway. I saw two women almost be run over today. They crossed st the same location I did— no crosswalk conveniently located to the bus stop or retail so I crossed the traffic as did they. I am surprised that no one has sued the county on behalf of pedestrians!