Wendy's, East Lyme, CT
WENDY'S HAMBURGERS
295 FLANDERS ROAD
EAST LYME, CONN
CLOSED 2007
As many of you may know, Wendy's is an international chain of fast food restaurants based out of Ohio. The chain opened a store in East Lyme, Connecticut, with an exterior design different than other Wendy's locations.
Fast food restaurants in the area have had notable difficulty establishing a foothold as seen in the failure of a McDonald's (1982-2006) and KFC (Sometime in the 1990s-2009) just a few miles down the road.
Wendy's itself launched a store in 1982 in the neighboring town of Waterford, which eventually closed in 2014. Despite being directly across the street form the bustling[?] Crystal Mall, I speculate this is partially due to the fact that it was in a poor location in regards to accessibility, having access from only the Northbound side of CT-85.
There was talk of turning this former Wendy's location into a Chick-fil-A, but plans ultimately were scrapped. I'll probably give this store it's own post sometime in the future.
The East Lyme location likely had to shutter its doors as a result of growing competition from the newly remodeled McDonald's which opened half a mile down the road, as well as the local favorite 'The Shack' restaurant directly across the street.
Today, the former Wendy's location operates as a 'Five Guys Burgers and Fries'. The drive-thru windows and driveway are still present, but not used as Five Guys doesn't offer a drive-thru of any sort.
I have to say, I'm a fan of the colonial style architecture the Wendy's location used. It's a shame more locations didn't adopt this type of regional flare.
Something interesting that I thought I'd bring up is how other than the exterior design, this Wendy's location wasn't very different from any of the other ones. Take a look at the comparison between the site plans for this location compared to the site plans for the Wendy's at 370 Colman Street. They're exactly the same!
So yeah, the East Lyme Wendy's is just like every other Wendy's... Just with a different skin.
When going into Five Guys, you can see how the layout clearly resembles that of a Wendy's. You have your counter to the left of the store, restrooms to the right, and dining area in the front. Here are some pictures I grabbed from Yelp. Credits go to their respective photographers:
Compare the layout of this Five Guys to that of this Wendy's in nearby Groton, CT (which also has the exact same layout)
See the door on the right, counter on the left, and hallway to the restrooms in the back? Again, it's the exact same building.
So yeah, that's the Wendy's in East Lyme that wants to be unique... But it really isn't. Stay tuned for more BrandHistoryUSA updates in the future!
Until next time,
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