Wendy's - Waterford, CT

Wendy's - Waterford, CT

  April 01, 2018    Robby S.

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The Wendy's Property ©Town of Waterford

WENDY'S HAMBURGERS
819 HARTFORD TURNPIKE
WATERFORD, CONN 
CLOSED 2014 

This isn't my first time talking about Wendy's, and I've actually briefly mentioned it in my earlier article about the former Wendy's in East Lyme, CT, now Five Guys.



The location in Waterford opened is relatively new, opening in 1982, and closing in 2014 when Wendy's started to begin renovating their stores to the new format. If I was to guess, it's closure would be the result of awful location, as it really was only accessible from one side of the road.

The Wendy's location was nothing special, and was set up like most Wendy's locations since the 1980s. It featured a drive thru, although its menu boards and ordering kiosk have since been removed. For the most part, the property has been pretty well gutted, although it still remains obvious the location once was a Wendy's.

Going up to the front door (which of course was locked), you could see into the vestibule a bit

Right from the start, you can see how it's been gutted. The Wendy's wallpaper has been removed, carpet pulled up, and the ceiling tiles are starting to fall in.

Peering in from the front you can see how the counter was removed alongside all of the signage and equipment. They really put in a lot of work to make it look very non-Wendy's, although its debatable how effective it was.

Now coming around to the right side entrance, I took a look inside the vestibule

I've never understood why so many fast food restaurants have these extended door handles. It seems a bit unnecessary but I'm sure it serves its purpose.

Looking in from the right, you can see how the Wendy's wallpaper has been removed. It used to have little pictures of the Wendy's logo alongside ads for Frostys and other Wendy's staples.

Now moving to the back of the restaurant... They never went through the liberty of covering up the old DRIVE THRU labels on the ground, despite all other signage or it being removed.

The coolers in back of the restaurant were locked shut, presumably so someone wouldn't sleep in it or get locked in.

All of the equipment for the drive thru was removed. The signs and ordering kiosk all have been dismantled.

Old mount for the menu board

Where the ordering kiosk was

There wasn't too much else behind the restaurant. Just a blacked-out door and some power equipment

The most prominent Wendy's relics were on the Drive-Thru windows, facing the rear of the property. They have some old 'Open Late' signs in the windows, which feature the Wendy's logo.

Take a look closely at the bottom of the last decal. It says ©2014, so this must have been put in the window right before Wendy's closed. It also features the newer Wendy's logo in the back

Now moving on to the next Drive Thru window

A close-up picture of a Wendy's decal on the second window. Sadly, my camera wouldn't focus too well on it.

A full shot of the restaurant's left side

Odd enough as it is, a good place to always check are the dumpster areas of vacant locations. A lot of the time old signs will be stored there, so it's always a cool idea to check it out.

Well there wasn't anything there at this store besides a trash can and some restaurant equipment.

Here's a close-up of a pole that once held a directional sign for the Drive Thru Window

Kinda like this one ©Allison S via Yelp

Lastly, I have some close-up shots of what remains of the old street sign.

This one was odd as it didn't feature the picture of Wendy, but rather just said 'Wendy's'

Well that about sums up this Wendy's location. It's a shame it didn't stick around as I'm quite fond of Wendy's.

Something else that I did want to mention before ending this article is that there was legitimate talk for a while about turning the space into a Chick-fil-A location a few years back although plans ultimately fell through, likely due to the restaurant's accessibility

Until next time

CHECK OUT THIS LOCATION'S PHOTO ALBUM ON FLICKR!