Two shuttered Burger King restaurants with drive-throughs can reopen in Minneapolis, after the City Council gave its approval on Friday.
The vote ends a monthslong discussion about whether to allow the two fast-food restaurants — one in north and the other in south Minneapolis — to reopen with drive-throughs.
Both establishments opened decades ago, before the city banned new drive-throughs in those areas. Old restaurants were grandfathered in.
Both locations in question, 3342 S. Nicollet Av. and 818 W. Broadway, shut down in April 2018, after the franchisee, P3 Foods LLC, filed for bankruptcy. Their parking lots and counters sat empty while Burger King worked to find a new owner to reopen the fast-food restaurants.
The city's Zoning Board of Adjustment in December rejected the company's request to reopen the restaurants with the drive-throughs, arguing that they had forfeited the right to run the drive-throughs when they abandoned the buildings.
Representatives for Burger King argued that the company had not willfully abandoned the properties and that the bankruptcy case had prohibited them from opening sooner.
The City Council voted Friday to reverse the city's prior decision and allow both locations to reopen with drive-throughs. Council Member Lisa Goodman cast the only no vote.
Liz Navratil • 612-673-4994
