Tag: Fast Food

05/05/15 12:00pm

New Replacement Oak Planted in Front of Kirby Dr. Wendy’s Is Taller Than the One Its Owner Chopped Down

Landscape, Restaurants, Streetscapes, Trees, Upper Kirby

21 Comments

Replacement Oak Tree in Front of Wendy's Restaurant, 5003 Kirby Dr., Upper Kirby, Houston

The sixth and last of the replacement street trees was planted in the public right-of-way surrounding the Wendy’s drive-thru at 5003 Kirby Dr. over the weekend. “It is a big specimen tree, taller than what was removed,” writes the reader who sent in these photos of the installation paid for by a special city fund for Houston parks — so we can all see for ourselves. The previous weekend, 5 replacement oaks were put in along the side street, North Blvd. Crews hired by the franchise owner, Mohammed Ali Dhanani of Haza Foods, had chopped down 6 trees on adjacent city property last October. You can compare the current scene in these photos and in our story last week with how it all looked before the chainsaws were fired up.

Regrowth

77098, Fast Food, Landscape, Streetscapes, Trees, Upper Kirby

04/30/15 1:00pm

Kirby Dr. Wendy’s Replacement Trees Are Kind of a Big Deal

Gardening, Landscape, Restaurants, Streetscapes, Upper Kirby

17 Comments

New Trees at Wendy's Drive-Thru Restaurant, 5003 Kirby Dr., Upper Kirby, Houston

New Trees at Wendy's Drive-Thru Restaurant, 5003 Kirby Dr., Upper Kirby, Houston A row of 5 already-growed-up oak trees took up their new home along the North Blvd. flank of the Wendy’s drive-thru at 5003 Kirby Dr. last weekend, to replace the same number along the public right-of-way that went missing after dark last Halloween on account of they were chopped into pieces by order of the franchise owner. “The new trees at Wendy’s are so big they had to close the road to install them,” writes the reader who sent in these photos. “. . . almost as big as the ones cut down.”

One more tree is still to come — for this spot on Kirby Dr., right in front:

Fast Landscaping

77098, Fast Food, Gardening, Landscape, Streetscapes, Trees

04/13/15 3:15pm

New Installation Marks Locations of Kirby Dr. Wendy’s Oaks with Thick Yellow Ribbons

Quicklink, Restaurants, Streetscapes, Trees, Upper Kirby

9 Comments

NEW INSTALLATION MARKS LOCATIONS OF KIRBY DR. WENDY’S OAKS WITH THICK YELLOW RIBBONS Protection for New Trees, Wendy's Restaurant, 5003 Kirby Dr., Upper Kirby, Houston Spotted at the corner of North Blvd. and Kirby Dr., just north of Rice Village: 6 holes, 6 staked-off areas, and 6 fabric wraps around the Wendy’s drive-thru at 5003 Kirby. Is this another art installation in memory of the removed oaks? Naaah. Probably just the work of city crews, getting ready to plant their replacements. Expenditure of up to $300K for new live oaks — matching the amount paid by the franchise owner as part of a legal settlement for last year’sÂ nighttime tree-hacking incident — was approved by city council back in February. Photo: Swamplot inbox

77098, Fast Food, Restaurants, Streetscapes, Trees, Upper Kirby

Demolitions

04/02/15 4:45pm

The Biggest Bite of Taco Bell You’ll Catch All Week

Kingwood, Restaurants

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Video of this week’s jaw-dropping demolition of the combo Taco Bell and Pizza Hut at 1710 Kingwood Dr. is now featured on the Facebook page of the chewed-up Kingwood restaurant, in 15 separate bite-sized episodes.

Above: Digging those teeth in. Next: Gettin’ some of that yummy filling:

Kingwood Crunch

77339, Demolitions, Fast Food, Kingwood, Openings and Closings, Restaurants

03/06/15 11:30am

Where Montrose’s Favorite Crepe Stand Will Go After Scoring $52K To Move Indoors

Leasing, Montrose, Quicklink, Restaurants

5 Comments

WHERE MONTROSE’S FAVORITE CREPE STAND WILL GO AFTER SCORING $52K TO MOVE INDOORS Melange Creperie, 403 Westheimer Rd., Lower Westheimer, Montrose, Houston With $2,215 to spare and a crepeload of promised food orders to fulfill, Montrose food stand Melange Creperie concluded a successful Kickstarter this morning. Meeting the $50K fundraising goal means the stand will be moving to an actual indoor location . . . somewhere. Owner and chief crepe-folder Sean Carroll tells Swamplot he’d like the restaurant to stay as close to its current regular location (403 Westheimer, at the corner of Taft St.) as possible — but exactly how close depends on the amount of additional investment that comes in. As a result of the Kickstarter, Carroll says, the restaurant has received a lot of inquiries about — and promises of — equity investment. “As we stand now with our Kickstarter plus our current equity promises . . . we can open a restaurant but it will be smaller and not in Montrose.” If he finds sufficient additional investment, he says, he’ll aim for a Montrose spot that’s about 2,000 sq. ft. and has a patio. [Kickstarter] Photo:Â Suzanne R.

77006, Fast Food, Leasing, Montrose, Restaurants

02/25/15 11:45am

Tree-Cutting Settlement Buys New Landscaping Around Kirby Dr. Wendy’s

Landscape, Quicklink, Streetscapes, Trees, Upper Kirby

27 Comments

TREE-CUTTING SETTLEMENT BUYS NEW LANDSCAPING AROUND KIRBY DR. WENDY’S Wendy's Restaurant, 5003 Kirby Dr., Upper Kirby, Houston City council approved a measure last week to spend $300,000 from a special fund for Houston parks on the installation of 6 new live-oak trees on the right-of-way surrounding the Wendy’s drive-thru restaurant at 5003 Kirby Dr. That’s the now-mostly treeless corner of North Blvd. pictured here, where crews hired by the franchise owner, Mohammed Ali Dhanani of Haza Foods, removed 6 old live-oak trees at night last October. The budget for the replacement includes removing what remains of the 6 stumps, installation of irrigation and subdrainage systems, and a 2-year warranty for the new trees, which will measure between 14 and 16 inches in diameter. The allotted budget matches the amount Dhanani paid in a settlement to the city for the incident last year. Any amount left over will be used for “additional improvements within City rights-of-way or park lands” approved by the Houston Parks Board director.Â [City of Houston; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Swamplot inbox

77098, City Council, Fast Food, Landscape, Restaurants, Streetscapes, Trees

02/23/15 1:30pm

The Three New Holes Forming in Einstein Bros. Bagels’ Outer Belt Coverage

Openings and Closings, Quicklink, Restaurants

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THE THREE NEW HOLES FORMING IN EINSTEIN BROS. BAGELS’ OUTER BELT COVERAGE Einstein Bros. Bagels, 3375 College Park Dr., The Woodlands, Texas The parent company of Einstein Bros. Bagels (which also owns Manhattan Bagels, Noah’s Bagels, and Peets Coffee & Tea, and Caribou Coffee as well) announced late last week that 3 far-flung Houston-area stores will be among the 39 “underperforming” stores nationwide the chain will be shuttering. Bagel spots atÂ 6261 Hwy. 6 (off Glen Lakes Ln.) in Missouri City, 2121 W. Davis St. in Conroe, and 3375 College Park Dr. in The Woodlands (pictured here) will be closed by tomorrow. [Culturemap] Photo of College Park Dr. store: Einstein Bros. Bagels

77304, 77384, 77459, Fast Food, Openings and Closings, Restaurants

01/27/15 11:45am

Wendy’s Kirby Dr. Drive-Thru Memorializes the Corner Oak Trees Its Owners Chopped Down Illegally with New Commemorative Plaque

Renovations, Restaurants, Streetscapes, Trees, Upper Kirby

27 Comments

Plaque on Wendy's Drive-Thru, 5003 Kirby Dr. at North Blvd., Upper Kirby, Houston

Oak Tree Stumps, North Blvd. at Kirby Dr., Upper Kirby, Houston

Jaws have been dropping along North Blvd. at the intersection of Kirby Dr. at the sight of a prominently placed inscription that now greets drive-thru customers of the Wendy’s at 5003 Kirby Dr. Is this just one of those obliviously coincidental following-corporate-guidelines things, or is the management of this Wendy’s going out of its way to draw attention to the under-cover-of-night street-tree massacre it orchestrated late last year to clear away 6 oaks on the corner and that cost the franchise owners a well-publicizedÂ $300,000 settlement from the city’s legal department? Or is the assembly of words attached directly to the brick wall, which honors “SERVICE THAT DOESN’T CUT CORNERS,” meant to apologize for the hired landscaping crew’s actions — which y’know, reallyÂ did cut a corner — and emphasize that the hardworking burger-makers inside are trying to do something . . .Â different?

In full, the signage reads, “QUALITY SERVICE THAT DOESN’T CUT CORNERS IS OUR RECIPE,” though the part about corner-cutting service in the middle is clearly meant as an add-on to the fast-food chain’s more famous “Quality is our recipe” tagline. For those of you who haven’t been following the saga closely enough to appreciate the . . . humor? chutzpah? contrition? obliviousness? involved here, Â here’s the backstory:

Corner Cutting

77098, Fast Food, Renovations, Restaurants, Streetscapes, Trees

01/12/15 1:46pm

Kirby Dr. Fast-Food Joints at North and South Blvds. Show Off Their Street Oak Buzzcuts

Restaurants, Streetscapes, Trees, Upper Kirby

22 Comments

Reopened Wendy's Restaurant at 5003 Kirby Dr., Upper Kirby, Houston

Burger King and Diminished Oak Tree at 5115 Kirby Dr., Upper Kirby, Houston

A regular Kirby Dr. street-tree watcher sends in this pair of recent images showing the Wendy’s drive-thru at 5003 Kirby Dr. (at the far western end of oak-tree-bedecked North Blvd.), which reopened after renovations the week before Christmas, and its neighbor a few driveways down, the Burger King at 5115 Kirby Dr. (at the far western end of similarly shaded South Blvd). The photos show the aftermath of a series of chainsaw incidents that took place last year.

The daring but probably not death-inducing trimming of the lone surviving Kirby Dr. street tree in front of Wendy’s (shown at top) took place after the franchise’s owner, Ali Dhanani of Haza Foods, paid the city a $300,000 settlement for the nighttime removal of 6 other oaks on city property surrounding the restaurant shortly before Halloween. A report in November indicated that the city’s legal team was investigating the more aggressive paring of oak limbs in front of the neighboring Burger King, as well as another Burger King owned by Houston Foods, the second-largest Burger King franchisee in the country, which is run by Dhanani’s brother, Shoukat Dhanani.

Previously on Swamplot:Â Looking into Houstonâ€™s Burger King Tree-Hacking Problem, Beginning Right Down the Street from the Kirby Dr. Wendyâ€™s; Days After $300K Treecutting Settlement, Workers Are Back on the Job at the Kirby Dr. Wendyâ€™s; City Nets $300K Settlement for Late-Night Kirby Dr. Wendyâ€™s Oak-Axing Incident; City Reportedly Planning Legal Action Against Kirby Dr. Wendyâ€™s Late-Night Tree Whackers; Kirby Dr. Wendyâ€™s Renovation Crews Chop Down North Blvd. Street Oaks Overnight;Â The Burger King Live Oak Amputation Mystery Deepens;Â Mysterious Oak Beheadings at the Yale and 610 Burger King

Photos: Swamplot inbox

The Giving Trees

77098, Fast Food, Restaurants, Streetscapes, Trees, Upper Kirby

Crime

11/20/14 12:45pm

Looking into Houston’s Burger King Tree-Hacking Problem, Beginning Right Down the Street from the Kirby Dr. Wendy’s

Franchises and Chain Stores, Gardening, Landscape, Lawsuits, Restaurants

34 Comments

Damaged Oak Trees, 2803 Yale St., Houston Heights

Damaged Oak Trees, 2803 Yale St., Houston Heights Fresh off receiving a $300,000 settlement for the unauthorized removal of 6 oak trees in the city right-of-way from Ali Dhanani and Haza Foods, owner of the Wendy’s franchise at the corner of Kirby Dr. and North Blvd., the city of Houston’s legal staff has turned its attention to 2 other oak-tree-hacking incidents at neighboring Burger Kings — one a couple blocks to the south at 5115 Kirby Dr. at the corner of South Blvd., and the other at 2116 W. Holcombe Blvd. at Main St., next to the Medical Center. At each location, according to a report from the Chronicle‘s Mike Morris, landscapers pruned an oak tree on surrounding public property excessively, making it “likely to die.”

Both Burger Kings, it turns out, are owned by Dhanani’s brother, Shoukat Dhanani, whose company, Houston Foods, happens to be the second-largest Burger King franchisee in the country. (And with a just-announced purchase, his Dhanani Group is about to double the number of U.S. Burger Kings it owns, to more than 450.) But this latest scuffle with the city is not Shoukat Dhanani’s first experience with aggressive limb-cutting of city-owned oaks. Two and a half years ago, Swamplot readers reported on the mysterious beheadings of oak trees surrounding 2 other Burger Kings, both of which also happen to be owned by Houston Foods.

Fast-Food Landscaping

Crime, Fast Food, Franchises, Gardening, Landscape, Lawsuits, Restaurants, Trees

11/19/14 12:00pm

Days After $300K Treecutting Settlement, Workers Are Back on the Job at the Kirby Dr. Wendy’s

Quicklink, Renovations, Restaurants, Trees, Upper Kirby

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DAYS AFTER $300K TREECUTTING SETTLEMENT, WORKERS ARE BACK ON THE JOB AT THE KIRBY DR. WENDY’S Workers at Wendy's Restaurant, 5003 Kirby Dr., Upper Kirby, Houston The snapper of this story-in-an-image pic taken of the construction site at 5003 Kirby Dr. tells Swamplot that construction crews went back to work on the stalled renovation of the Wendy’s Tuesday morning. Last Friday Mohammed A. Dhanani and HAZA Foods, the franchise owner,Â agreed to pay the city of Houston $300,000 for the 6 oak trees removed late last month from the city right-of-way in front of the fast-food franchise along Kirby and North Blvd. AÂ permitting logjam had halted work on the ongoing renovationsÂ after city officials learned of the street-tree chop-downs.Â What’s the worker’s gesture in the pic supposed to mean? “I think it was a ‘right on’ fist pump,” reports the photographer. [Previously on Swamplot] Photo: Swamplot inbox

77098, Fast Food, Renovations, Restaurants, Trees, Upper Kirby

11/17/14 1:15pm

City Nets $300K Settlement for Late-Night Kirby Dr. Wendy’s Oak-Axing Incident

Landscape, Lawsuits, Restaurants, Trees, Upper Kirby

30 Comments

Partial Demolition of Wendy's Restaurant, 5003 Kirby Dr., Upper Kirby, Houston

Wendy's Restaurant, 5003 Kirby Dr. at North Blvd., Upper Kirby, Houston

Update, 1:40pm: A revised press release from the mayor’s office now indicates the settlement was for all 6 trees, not 4 as previously indicated. We’ve updated the story below.

A just-announced legal settlement signed late last week means that the owner of the Wendy’s franchise at 5003 Kirby Dr. will be paying a $300,000 fine to the city for the late-night chopping-down and mulching-up of oak trees in the public right-of-way in front of the restaurant late last month. Six trees lining Kirby and North Blvd. were removed in the nighttime incident (illustrated in the before-and-after photos above), which was first reported on Swamplot. Crews from Freddy’s Landscaping and More carried out the tree-removal work under contract; the settlement, however, is to be paid entirely by Mohammed A. Dhanani and HAZA Foods, the Wendy’s franchise owner. All construction work on the restaurant, which was closed and undergoing renovations when the trees were removed, had come to a stop after city officials became aware of the clandestine street-visibility-improvement operation.

Now That’s Better

77098, Fast Food, Landscape, Lawsuits, Restaurants, Trees, Upper Kirby

Construction Problems

11/07/14 2:45pm

Deforested Kirby Dr. Wendy’s Brings Back a Little Greenery

Quicklink, Restaurants, Upper Kirby

20 Comments

DEFORESTED KIRBY DR. WENDY’S BRINGS BACK A LITTLE GREENERY Fencing Around Wendy's Restaurant, 5003 Kirby Dr., Upper Kirby, Houston Passersby hoping to see for themselves precisely what hullabaloo was responsible for the larger-than-normal red tag placed by city officials on the door of the abruptly-paused-during-renovation Kirby Dr. Wendy’s now have an additional obstacle blocking satisfaction of their curiosity. The perimeter construction fencing on the jobsite at 5003 Kirby Dr. — which only went up just as workers were chopping down 6 oak trees on the surrounding public right-of-way late one night last weekÂ — has gained a new green-fabric wrapping. “I think it makes the construction look more attractive,” quipsÂ the reader who sent in the above photo of the stump-and-fence scene (with the red tag still barely visible through the greenage). That’s nice, the reader notes, since “apparently we are going to be looking at it for a long time.” [Previously on Swamplot] Photo: Swamplot inbox

77098, Cancellations and Delays, Construction Problems, Fast Food, Fencing, Restaurants, Upper Kirby

Development Regulations

11/03/14 3:30pm

Logging Operations at the Wendy’s on Kirby Dr. Have Come to a Halt