CARBONEAR, NL — Ten months after one of the original Mary Brown's franchisees in Canada lost his Carbonear location, the popular fried chicken chain is preparing to reemerge in the community.
Carbonear council approved an application Monday to construct a building at 86 Powell Drive for the new restaurant, which will be located just west of the Home Hardware store and provincial government offices. Foundation has already been laid.
Mayor Frank Butt told council members he consulted with the director of public works about whether the site will have adequate space for drive thru service and was told it does have enough room.
Ed Whalen was among the earliest Mary Brown's franchisees in all of Canada when he opened a restaurant in Harbour Grace in 1972. However, Mary Brown's elected not to renew its franchise agreement with Whalen earlier this year for the last of his three locations, which was on Columbus Drive in Carbonear. Whalen has since opened a Chicken Fritou franchise in the same building.
SEE RELATED:
'Former Mary Brown's franchisee starts over'
'Mary Brown's franchisee forced out after 44 years'
Trouble on Rusted Place
Roadwork planned for Rusted Place has hit a bit of a snag due to leaks in the main waterline.
According to director of public works Brian O'Grady, leaks are springing up through the road. He said the system installed in the area is quite old, and laying new pavement there without addressing leaks in the waterline would force the town to dig the street back up next spring.
"We've ceased the roadwork until we can assess (the situation), and we've requested the engineer to do a design … to see what it will actually cost to do the water and sewer, and then go back and do the asphalt."
O'Grady hopes to have the information in hand later this week. CAO Cynthia Davis indicated council may have no choice but to meet again once the town hears back from the engineer in order to fast-track the work that needs to happen.
"Hopefully it's a reasonable number that we can proceed with," said Davis. "Again, it's not going to make sense to bury it up, because you're just going to have to dig it up to deal with these leaks."
New depot ready by end of month
The Town of Carbonear expects to have work on its new municipal depot finished by the end of this month.
The town approved a motion Monday to cover the cost of additional construction management services — approximately $4,500 — related to work extending into the month of November. That figure also covered services for the month of October.
"Half of that for one month and half for November," said O'Grady. "It should be done by the end of November. That's the projected deadline where we can come out and do the final inspections."
Davis said the project at this point is still within budget. The overall cost including purchase price, consultant fees and renovations expenses is approximately $1.9 million.
NOTE: This article has been edited to correct information regarding the history of Mary Brown's in Canada.
