Olive Garden on Burger King Site?

NHKathy · 07-12-2008, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dpg

Personally I think brk-lnt is being a bit harsh but as it's been said "to each his own." [SIZE="3"]Yes there is better family owned home-cooked italian food out there but there not a bad meal in my opinion.[/SIZE] Bring them on......I'd go...

Quote:

Originally Posted by eyenotall777

Personally, I would rather see an independent locally owned restaurant and if it has to be a chain, I would prefer a Ruby Tuesday or a http://www.5anddiner.com/

Just my 2 cents....

I agree with both of these posts...
I'd definately rather see a locally owned place too, and there are definately better Italian Restaurants out there; but I still love the Olive Garden too - always a good meal.

jrc · 07-13-2008, 05:40 PM

I drove by there today. That does not look like enough room for an Olive Garden. Most OG are bigger than that BK building and there is no where near enough parking.

Unless there is a very clever way to get more cars in there, I'm guessing no Olive Garden. Why would OG pay the money for a water front building. A dozen boats will not buy enough salad and breadsticks to cover the taxes.

hockeypuck · 07-13-2008, 07:53 PM

Just a thought about all this chatter about Olive Garden, Burger King, local ownership v/s large franchise. All the tax payers and other local merchants should be just thrilled that these kind of properties are not just staying vacant for long periods of time. We have had a change of owners at the Lobster Pond, Waldo Peppers moved to a vacant location, the old Waldo Peppers is now Boston Seafood and Burger KIng may be Olive Garden. Everyone has a right to choose their own place to eat based on their own preference but it just seems to me that we should give them all a chance and let the market determine their future. Hopefully they will all survive and flourish. It's always better to have something producing jobs, income and paying taxes as opposed to an empty building.

Chickie · 07-14-2008, 01:40 PM

There was a widely circulated rumor over a year ago that Olive Garden would be coming in next to the new Lowe's. It never materialized or perhaps it is still being considered. Don't believe everything you hear is my motto or believe it when you see it.

A friend has also mentioned to me that the size of the BK lot would be too small for an OG. Maybe it would be a scaled down version.

ironhorsetim · 07-14-2008, 02:02 PM

A friend who worked there said BK only owns from the building over to the left..if thats true thats an awful small lot...I'm all for variety but I prefer the smaller local types of businesses

CaptDan · 07-14-2008, 11:11 PM

I couldn't care what goes there.. just put the docks back.

BroadHopper · 07-15-2008, 01:41 AM

Put the docks back and share the expenses with T-Bones/Cactus Jack. I'd like to see someone like Micheal Buckley put in a great steak house instead of Olive Garden.

Overlake97 · 07-15-2008, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ironhorsetim

A friend who worked there said BK only owns from the building over to the left..if thats true thats an awful small lot...I'm all for variety but I prefer the smaller local types of businesses

I drove by yesterday and did notice that the For Sale sign was still up - for the parking lot to the right. Is this Olive Garden thing really anything more than a rumor?

Skip · 07-24-2008, 06:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Overlake97

...Is this Olive Garden thing really anything more than a rumor?...

Yep, it was just another rumor.

Straight from the owner in this morning's CITIZEN, there's been plenty of lookers but no takers over this particular piece of property.

no-engine · 07-24-2008, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ironhorsetim

A friend who worked there said BK only owns from the building over to the left..if thats true thats an awful small lot...I'm all for variety but I prefer the smaller local types of businesses

As a more recent post quoted Citizen, BK never owned the site. The holder of the franchise leased the site. I seriously doubt that one side of building is different than the other side. I do realize that the city approval processes went though 25+ years ago, but I can not imagine two different owners.

Total rumor. Some have a large imagination!

VitaBene · 07-25-2008, 05:56 AM

I doubt you will see a restaurant in there any time soon given the price of the property- the nut on that with no renovations will be $ 10K/month minimum. I can't imagine carrying that seasonally (pretty much) in this market, docks or not. There is a reason 50 people have looked and none have pulled the trigger!

chipj29 · 07-25-2008, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VitaBene

I doubt you will see a restaurant in there any time soon given the price of the property- the nut on that with no renovations will be $ 10K/month minimum. I can't imagine carrying that seasonally (pretty much) in this market, docks or not. There is a reason 50 people have looked and none have pulled the trigger!

You might be surprised. $10k/month is a drop in the bucket for a big chain. I know of one chain restaurant in Concord that pays at least that much to lease their site. Of course they are pulling in $60k/month at least...

Old Hubbard Rd · 07-25-2008, 10:48 AM

My prediction is that this property never sells. There is a disagreement going on amongst the owners. The owners of the land is a group who one of them owns the Burger King restaurant. They tried to increase the rent to what he figured was a unreasonable amount so the land group owners did not think the Burger king partner would pull out. This Burger King owner owns MANY Burger Kings and financially could walk away and not be pressured into a lease that was not reasonable to him. As I mentioned he is part owner of the land and sole owner of the Burger King. He would need to approve the sale. Do you really think that will happen. The owner of the Burger King is contemplating putting a new style Burger King. A proto type. Burger King is testing a upper scale Burger King. One that may serve alcohol. That is what I heard. Is there truth to it. We'll wait and see. I do miss the Burger King. What a killer location. All those docks!!!

AKADQ · 07-25-2008, 01:20 PM

In talking with management at BK last year they had purchased the real estate to the left of the building with the intent of building a brand new BK, that of course as long as the group whome owns the building was on board. BK was smart for purchasing their piece because you really can't do much if your a player unless you have both lots. To purchase both lots (that is if BK would part with theirs) would be far to exspensive for what your getting. BK in my opinion won the first round. It would only make sense for both sides to sit down and reach an agreement and maybe we could see BK back in business at that location.

TBCJ · 09-01-2008, 10:17 AM

Hello all, I am the owner of T-BONES and Cactus Jack's and I can tell you we looked and discussed at length the possibility of getting the docks at the Burger King site. It's very complicated. The facts are this:

1) The lot is divided at the chain link fence
2) The building is no longer owned by Burger King...they land leased and when they decided to not re-new the lease, the building defaults to the land owner
3) Either lot is FAR TOO SMALL for any chain restaurant or full service restaurant. It would be great for a smaller restaurant, but there is a big battle as to who owns the docks...the docks were permitted some 30 years ago to 'the Burger King Restaurant' but they sit on the smaller lot owner (who was the previous owner of the restaurant) so it's unclear who has the rights to the docks..it'll be a battle for sure.
4) As a matter of financial decisions, I think many people are disullisioned as to the cost to move/build a restaurant. Moving our restaurant to that site would be incredibly cost prohibitive, not to mention we would need to have both owners of the lot 'sell'.

Hope this helps clear it up. From my experience, chain restaurants do not pick markets that are so seasonal like this area is. But there's always a first right?

Thanks to those who have posted kind comments about T-BONES and Cac tus Jack's.

Tom Boucher

sa meredith · 09-01-2008, 11:51 AM

I used those docks 3 or 4 times last season, and walked the tracks to Tbones, and noone ever said anything...although I seem to remember a post somewhere about a sign being put up...something about a small charge if you were heading to Tbones/CJs.
There was always very few, if any, boats there. It really was not the ideal situation..the wind at that end of Paugus is constant, and very regular boat traffic keeps the chop going. Combine the wind, chop, and the fact the docks were floating (as opposed to on pilings) and keeping the boat stable was always tricky. The only way to keep from taking a pretty good beating was to tie off on both side..with very little "give" in the lines. These are probably the same reason "Spinnacker" has such a large breakwater.
Anyway, I liked having the option of using them, but can't say I miss them.
Perhaps some type of an association could be formed from businesses on that side of the bay, and they could share the expense of having the docks put back? Just a thought...and maybe it would not be worth the expense to all retail shops there.
Anyway...
Tom...be sure to check your "message in" box.

Wolfeboro_Baja · 09-11-2008, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WAM 290

I couldn't care what goes there.. just put the docks back.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old Hubbard Rd

I do miss the Burger King. What a killer location. All those docks!!!

I agree, as long as they don't put back the SAME docks!! Those floating docks were awful!! I wouldn't tie a canoe to those old floating docks!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by sa meredith

I used those docks 3 or 4 times last season, and walked the tracks to Tbones, and noone ever said anything...although I seem to remember a post somewhere about a sign being put up...something about a small charge if you were heading to Tbones/CJs.
There was always very few, if any, boats there. It really was not the ideal situation..the wind at that end of Paugus is constant, and very regular boat traffic keeps the chop going. Combine the wind, chop, and the fact the docks were floating (as opposed to on pilings) and keeping the boat stable was always tricky. The only way to keep from taking a pretty good beating was to tie off on both side..with very little "give" in the lines. These are probably the same reason "Spinnacker" has such a large breakwater.
Anyway, I liked having the option of using them, but can't say I miss them.
Perhaps some type of an association could be formed from businesses on that side of the bay, and they could share the expense of having the docks put back? Just a thought...and maybe it would not be worth the expense to all retail shops there.
Anyway...
Tom...be sure to check your "message in" box.

SA, you're right on about it being tricky to keep a boat stable at those docks; tying up to both sides, with spring lines, was the ONLY safe way to tie up to those docks and even then, I was still nervous about the boat taking a beating!

As for what business/restaurant goes into the spot, I really don't care what moves in as long as it's a good restaurant and they install better docks!! We need more dining out options that are reachable by boat!

The Big Kahuna · 09-23-2008, 02:33 PM

There is no Olive Garden going into the site of the old BK. A friend of mine just won the contract to do the work on the building, he won the bid from a NY firm, G. Ramsey Industries Inc., he isworking with an NY company that is subing the work out. They are building a water side restaurant and lounge, real up-scale from what he is saying.

Rose · 09-23-2008, 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Big Kahuna

There is no Olive Garden going into the site of the old BK. A friend of mine just won the contract to do the work on the building, he won the bid from a NY firm, G. Ramsey Industries Inc., he isworking with an NY company that is subing the work out. They are building a water side restaurant and lounge, real up-scale from what he is saying.

When I hear restaurant and G. Ramsey, Gordon Ramsey of "Hell's Kitchen" and "Kitchen Nightmares" comes to mind. If it's him, that will be one colorful place when the man is on the premises...I don't think he can complete a sentence without dropping the F-bomb.

fatlazyless · 09-23-2008, 09:45 PM

Wikipedia has a long reference for what's probably the same person and it mentions his colorfull speaking style.

Aye mate, not exactly the same lanquage as her royal majesty, Queen Elizabeth, ya know, but he didn't grow up in Buckingham Palace,

either.

sa meredith · 10-21-2008, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Big Kahuna

There is no Olive Garden going into the site of the old BK. A friend of mine just won the contract to do the work on the building, he won the bid from a NY firm, G. Ramsey Industries Inc., he isworking with an NY company that is subing the work out. They are building a water side restaurant and lounge, real up-scale from what he is saying.

So, when is this going to become public information?
And when is construction going to begin?
And lastly, where are the customers going to park their cars?

Resident 2B · 02-09-2009, 03:33 PM

Does anyone have any new information about the construction mentioned in post #49?? If G. Ramsey is not coming in, what about an Olive Garden?

An Olive Garden seems like a better match for that site than the up-scale place mentioned in post #49.

With all that has happened in the US since post 49, the economy might have taken that idea away. Money has been very tight since September.

It would be great to have an update.

R2B

no-engine · 02-09-2009, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Big Kahuna

There is no Olive Garden going into the site of the old BK. A friend of mine just won the contract to do the work on the building, he won the bid from a NY firm, G. Ramsey Industries Inc., he isworking with an NY company that is subing the work out. They are building a water side restaurant and lounge, real up-scale from what he is saying.

This is 4.5 months later - NO WORK YET.

Do we believe?

I am always amused by all the rumors on this entire forum.
I see very little verification. One could ask Laconia planning board.
Please understand, I have no intent to offend anyone...........

TiltonBB · 07-25-2008, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by no-engine

As a more recent post quoted Citizen, BK never owned the site. The holder of the franchise leased the site. I seriously doubt that one side of building is different than the other side. I do realize that the city approval processes went though 25+ years ago, but I can not imagine two different owners.

Total rumor. Some have a large imagination!

Some don't believe what they read, but should! The franchisee does own the lot from the left side of the building over. If you look, you will notice the chain link fence he put up to define his portion. That is why it will be a difficult site to lease. After not reaching acceptable terms with the owner of the building who also own the right side of the property he probably won't be in any hurry to rent his side out.

I'll be he is laughing as the building sits empty!

no-engine · 07-25-2008, 08:17 AM

Seen that fence many times!
How on earth would a sane planning department approve plans with such an arrangement? Well maybe there were long term easements back & forth for the parking and such. So, maybe all those lease/contracts/approvals expired, making the site virtually useless for something viable!

Ownership is public records; one could research......

Franchises often spend unbelievable money to build something. Example: the site work for Mcd's in Meredith, which was unbelievable!!!
However, the franchise holder has bunch of McDs to absorb that investment! Simply one big business, of which Meredith site is small portion!

07-14-2008, 02:02 PM	#5
ironhorsetim Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Laconia/Ft Myers Beach, Fl Posts: 184 Thanks: 57 Thanked 26 Times in 23 Posts	size matters A friend who worked there said BK only owns from the building over to the left..if thats true thats an awful small lot...I'm all for variety but I prefer the smaller local types of businesses

07-14-2008, 11:11 PM	#6
CaptDan Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Oxford, MA Posts: 53 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Docks I couldn't care what goes there.. just put the docks back. __________________ - Dan The Life of Riley

07-15-2008, 01:41 AM	#7
BroadHopper Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Laconia NH Posts: 5,594 Thanks: 3,236 Thanked 1,111 Times in 798 Posts	Docks Put the docks back and share the expenses with T-Bones/Cactus Jack. I'd like to see someone like Micheal Buckley put in a great steak house instead of Olive Garden. __________________ Someday may never be an actual day.

07-25-2008, 05:56 AM	#11
VitaBene Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Moultonborough Posts: 3,597 Thanks: 1,644 Thanked 1,642 Times in 845 Posts	too pricey I doubt you will see a restaurant in there any time soon given the price of the property- the nut on that with no renovations will be $ 10K/month minimum. I can't imagine carrying that seasonally (pretty much) in this market, docks or not. There is a reason 50 people have looked and none have pulled the trigger!

07-25-2008, 10:48 AM	#13
Old Hubbard Rd Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 462 Thanks: 141 Thanked 54 Times in 33 Posts	Burger King will not sell My prediction is that this property never sells. There is a disagreement going on amongst the owners. The owners of the land is a group who one of them owns the Burger King restaurant. They tried to increase the rent to what he figured was a unreasonable amount so the land group owners did not think the Burger king partner would pull out. This Burger King owner owns MANY Burger Kings and financially could walk away and not be pressured into a lease that was not reasonable to him. As I mentioned he is part owner of the land and sole owner of the Burger King. He would need to approve the sale. Do you really think that will happen. The owner of the Burger King is contemplating putting a new style Burger King. A proto type. Burger King is testing a upper scale Burger King. One that may serve alcohol. That is what I heard. Is there truth to it. We'll wait and see. I do miss the Burger King. What a killer location. All those docks!!!

07-13-2008, 05:40 PM	#2
jrc Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: NH Posts: 2,689 Thanks: 33 Thanked 439 Times in 249 Posts	I drove by there today. That does not look like enough room for an Olive Garden. Most OG are bigger than that BK building and there is no where near enough parking. Unless there is a very clever way to get more cars in there, I'm guessing no Olive Garden. Why would OG pay the money for a water front building. A dozen boats will not buy enough salad and breadsticks to cover the taxes.

07-13-2008, 07:53 PM	#3
hockeypuck Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Southern CT Posts: 169 Thanks: 19 Thanked 4 Times in 3 Posts	Just a thought about all this chatter about Olive Garden, Burger King, local ownership v/s large franchise. All the tax payers and other local merchants should be just thrilled that these kind of properties are not just staying vacant for long periods of time. We have had a change of owners at the Lobster Pond, Waldo Peppers moved to a vacant location, the old Waldo Peppers is now Boston Seafood and Burger KIng may be Olive Garden. Everyone has a right to choose their own place to eat based on their own preference but it just seems to me that we should give them all a chance and let the market determine their future. Hopefully they will all survive and flourish. It's always better to have something producing jobs, income and paying taxes as opposed to an empty building.

07-14-2008, 01:40 PM	#4
Chickie Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 370 Thanks: 0 Thanked 68 Times in 39 Posts	Olive Garden Rumor or Fact? There was a widely circulated rumor over a year ago that Olive Garden would be coming in next to the new Lowe's. It never materialized or perhaps it is still being considered. Don't believe everything you hear is my motto or believe it when you see it. A friend has also mentioned to me that the size of the BK lot would be too small for an OG. Maybe it would be a scaled down version.

07-25-2008, 01:20 PM	#14
AKADQ Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Meredith Posts: 89 Thanks: 47 Thanked 17 Times in 13 Posts	BK ! It could still happen In talking with management at BK last year they had purchased the real estate to the left of the building with the intent of building a brand new BK, that of course as long as the group whome owns the building was on board. BK was smart for purchasing their piece because you really can't do much if your a player unless you have both lots. To purchase both lots (that is if BK would part with theirs) would be far to exspensive for what your getting. BK in my opinion won the first round. It would only make sense for both sides to sit down and reach an agreement and maybe we could see BK back in business at that location.

09-01-2008, 10:17 AM	#15
TBCJ Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Bedford, NH Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 7 Times in 2 Posts	The facts Hello all, I am the owner of T-BONES and Cactus Jack's and I can tell you we looked and discussed at length the possibility of getting the docks at the Burger King site. It's very complicated. The facts are this: 1) The lot is divided at the chain link fence 2) The building is no longer owned by Burger King...they land leased and when they decided to not re-new the lease, the building defaults to the land owner 3) Either lot is FAR TOO SMALL for any chain restaurant or full service restaurant. It would be great for a smaller restaurant, but there is a big battle as to who owns the docks...the docks were permitted some 30 years ago to 'the Burger King Restaurant' but they sit on the smaller lot owner (who was the previous owner of the restaurant) so it's unclear who has the rights to the docks..it'll be a battle for sure. 4) As a matter of financial decisions, I think many people are disullisioned as to the cost to move/build a restaurant. Moving our restaurant to that site would be incredibly cost prohibitive, not to mention we would need to have both owners of the lot 'sell'. Hope this helps clear it up. From my experience, chain restaurants do not pick markets that are so seasonal like this area is. But there's always a first right? Thanks to those who have posted kind comments about T-BONES and Cac tus Jack's. Tom Boucher

The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to TBCJ For This Useful Post:
ironhorsetim (09-09-2008), Phantom (09-02-2008), secondcurve (09-23-2008)

09-01-2008, 11:51 AM	#16
sa meredith Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 986 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 32 Thanked 352 Times in 137 Posts	Docks I used those docks 3 or 4 times last season, and walked the tracks to Tbones, and noone ever said anything...although I seem to remember a post somewhere about a sign being put up...something about a small charge if you were heading to Tbones/CJs. There was always very few, if any, boats there. It really was not the ideal situation..the wind at that end of Paugus is constant, and very regular boat traffic keeps the chop going. Combine the wind, chop, and the fact the docks were floating (as opposed to on pilings) and keeping the boat stable was always tricky. The only way to keep from taking a pretty good beating was to tie off on both side..with very little "give" in the lines. These are probably the same reason "Spinnacker" has such a large breakwater. Anyway, I liked having the option of using them, but can't say I miss them. Perhaps some type of an association could be formed from businesses on that side of the bay, and they could share the expense of having the docks put back? Just a thought...and maybe it would not be worth the expense to all retail shops there. Anyway... Tom...be sure to check your "message in" box.

09-23-2008, 02:33 PM	#18
The Big Kahuna Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Gilford Posts: 148 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	The real story There is no Olive Garden going into the site of the old BK. A friend of mine just won the contract to do the work on the building, he won the bid from a NY firm, G. Ramsey Industries Inc., he isworking with an NY company that is subing the work out. They are building a water side restaurant and lounge, real up-scale from what he is saying.

09-23-2008, 09:45 PM	#20
fatlazyless Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 8,800 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 301 Thanked 1,026 Times in 746 Posts	Wikipedia has a long reference for what's probably the same person and it mentions his colorfull speaking style. Aye mate, not exactly the same lanquage as her royal majesty, Queen Elizabeth, ya know, but he didn't grow up in Buckingham Palace, either. __________________ ... down and out, liv'n that Walmart side of the lake! Last edited by fatlazyless; 09-24-2008 at 04:29 AM.

02-09-2009, 03:33 PM	#22
Resident 2B Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: North Shore, MA Posts: 1,358 Thanks: 996 Thanked 314 Times in 164 Posts	When?? Does anyone have any new information about the construction mentioned in post #49?? If G. Ramsey is not coming in, what about an Olive Garden? An Olive Garden seems like a better match for that site than the up-scale place mentioned in post #49. With all that has happened in the US since post 49, the economy might have taken that idea away. Money has been very tight since September. It would be great to have an update. R2B

The Following User Says Thank You to TiltonBB For This Useful Post:
ironhorsetim (09-09-2008)

07-25-2008, 08:17 AM	#25
no-engine Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: West side Winnipesaukee, Lakes Region Posts: 516 Thanks: 20 Thanked 52 Times in 40 Posts	Seen that fence many times! How on earth would a sane planning department approve plans with such an arrangement? Well maybe there were long term easements back & forth for the parking and such. So, maybe all those lease/contracts/approvals expired, making the site virtually useless for something viable! Ownership is public records; one could research...... Franchises often spend unbelievable money to build something. Example: the site work for Mcd's in Meredith, which was unbelievable!!! However, the franchise holder has bunch of McDs to absorb that investment! Simply one big business, of which Meredith site is small portion!