Wendy’s restaurant in The Dalles is among eight recently closed in Oregon.
A spokesperson for Wendy’s said Tuesday that the closures were taking place because Eugene franchisee Jeff Vogel “failed to meet certain basic obligations of his Wendy’s franchise agreement.”
“This is a step that we felt we needed to take in the best interests of the Wendy’s brand and our franchise system as a whole,” spokesman Bob Bertini said in an email. “We value our relationship with our franchisees, and, certainly, an action like this is something that we do not take lightly.”
Citing “respect to the parties involved,” the Ohio-based company said it can’t provide many specifics.
No information on the closure of the Wendy’s on West Sixth Street in The Dalles was available as of press time Wednesday.
“We hope to return to Eugene and the other communities in the future,” Bertini said. “However, any discussion regarding the potential timing or future plans would be premature at this point.”
In the meantime, the fate of a couple of hundred employees and the Wendy’s buildings remains up in the air.
Bertini did not address whether a new franchisee might hire Vogel’s former employees. Vogel said last week that his family employed about 200 part- and full-time workers at its locales.
The affected Wendy’s also include four in Eugene, one in Springfield and one each in Albany, and Corvallis.
Vogel did not respond Tuesday to a request for comment.
Vogel’s ouster may leave in the lurch a number of property owners who were leasing the Wendy’s restaurant buildings to him.
In Lane County, Vogel does not own any of the five closed Wendy’s buildings, according to property records. Rather, each one is independently owned by real estate investors, who now have empty buildings.
The Mohawk Wendy’s building in Springfield is owned by local investor Steve Yett. Eugene investor Janice Leister heads a group that owns the Franklin property. Eugene investor George Wingard owns the River Road Wendy’s building. A Portland investment group owns the Green Acres Wendy’s building.
Vogel’s lease on that property runs through 2019, according to a copy of the lease filed with Lane County. The length of any of the other leases is not clear.
A Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., business, Premier Commerce LLC, owns the West 11th building. Premier Commerce bought that building from Vogel last July for $1.29 million, according to a deed filed with Lane County.
The federal Internal Revenue Service in 2013 filed a lien against Vogel’s restaurant operating company, PMD Restaurants LLC, seeking $132,840 in withheld but unpaid employee federal income taxes. The government in November released the lien, meaning Vogel had paid the amount.
Anyone interested in reopening the Wendy’s restaurants will need significant wealth. Wendy’s requires a franchise owner to have a net worth of at least $1 million, with $500,000 in liquid assets, plus a successful business and franchise track record, according to the International Franchise Association.
In addition, the typical franchisee would have to pay start-up costs of $250,000 to $600,000, according to the association.
Wendy’s franchises about 6,600 restaurants, and owns about 1,400, according to the association.
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