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Vacant building in Tottenham will become a new franchise

July 9, 2021   ·   0 Comments

The building on Queen Street in Tottenham has been somewhat of an eyesore for the past four years, however the former Dairy Queen is going is going to see some new life as the building will be re-opened as an A&W.

Since Dairy Queen closed suddenly in the summer of 2017, the town has been missing one important thing – as one local high school student said after the closure, “There isn’t even a place to get a hamburger in this town.”

The Dairy Queen was a popular spot when it was open and it was always busy. That’s why many people were surprised when it closed suddenly and it was announced there were no plans to re-open.

At the time, the owner of the local franchise said he was not able to negotiate a new lease with the landlord.

Since then, the parking lot has become a meeting place for people who buy a coffee at Tim Horton’s next door and socialize from their cars in the empty lot.

Speculation that something was going to happen started a couple of years ago when crews started working on the exterior of the building but nothing came from that and there are still visible signs of renovations.

Now A&W has confirmed plans to open a new restaurant at the Tottenham location.

If you go to the A&W website to search for a restaurant location, the Tottenham postal code already lists Tottenham as a restaurant location.

A&W has been expanding in Canada and is now the second largest fast food burger restaurant in the country. As of 2020, it had 974 locations across the nation.

The restaurant franchise first became popular in Canada in the 1960s, when they were known for their drive-ins and a waitress who would bring your order to your car and place the tray on you window.

The last A&W drive-in closed in 2000 in Langley, B.C.

The restaurant chain had a lot of visibility in shopping mall food courts, however with malls in a decline over the past 20 years, the company has been focusing on opening new stand-alone style restaurants.

The plans for the new Tottenham location is still in the early stages but the company is expected to make an announcement by September of this year.

By Brian Lockhart
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter


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