Roxborough residents watch Wendy’s restaurant rise at historic neighborhood site

The corner of Ridge and Roxoborough avenues has been in question since December 2012, when the historic Bunting House, located at 5901 Ridge Ave., was razed in the face of community protest.

Then construction began last month on a Wendy’s restaurant — a project neighbors have been fighting from it’s conception. 

“This is not what we had hoped for this property,” said Don Simon, president of the Central Roxborough Civic Assosciation. For the past three years the CRCA, and much of Roxborough and its surrounding neighborhoods have been battling the property owners — brothers and developers Frank and Anthony — who announced thepossibility of a Wendy’s at the property in March 2013.

In Septembers 2013, city officials confirmed that the developers were seeking to locate a Wendy’s on the historic corner in Roxborough.

The news was immediately met with mixed feelings among the community. Within days of the announcement, a Roxborough Wendy’s Facebook page touted 250 “likes” (to date it has 2,305) and a website created by the Giovannone brothers — now defunct — stated, “This project is being designed with its neighbors in mind — respect for the community and the environment is a priority.”

The site also claimed that the new restaurant would create 50 jobs and bring thousands of tax dollars to the city.

But for many, this wasn’t enough. A November 2013  NewsWorks article chatted withsix community voices regarding the possible Wendy’s.