Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 14, 1993 TAG: 9310150390
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV8 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
The Wendy's scheduled to open Friday at 660 E. Main St., is the first venture of Wendwil Associates, a partnership of Wendwil Associates - essentially Jeff and Pat Logan of Salem - and the A .T. Williams Co., a New River Valley development firm.
Nearly 50 employees had been hired as preparations continued this week for Friday's scheduled opening.
The Wendy's will operate in conjunction with a gasoline station and store, a combination Jeff Logan says is becoming more trendy.
''I'm not saying it's the future, but most of the major chains are looking at that as an option,'' he said.
He and his wife have been operating five other Wendy's restaurants in Wytheville, Galax, Christiansburg, Covington and Lexington, under the name Wendoke. Pat Logan is overseeing those.
``I kind of broke off from Wendoke and came here,'' Jeff Logan said. ``I am exclusively here.''
The couple plans to be on site in Dublin in November for the Wendy's being planned there. Its staff will be trained at the Pulaski Wendy's.
``We hope to open there in January,'' Jeff said, which will bring two Wendy's restau rants to Pulaski County. ``We're pretty excited about it.''
Elita Higginson, manager at the Christiansburg Wendy's, will move to Dublin. The Lexington manager will move to Christiansburg, and an assistant manager at Lexington will be promoted to manager there.
Logan said he and his wife had been considering a Wendy's for Pulaski, but A.T. Williams approached them first with the available property and a partnership possibility.
``There seems to be a lot of growth going on here,'' he said. ``We were real excited about the development that's going on, the Main Street program, Pulaski Furniture adding on, Renfro Corp.'s addition.''
Logan began working for Wendy's while in college. After graduation, he joined Wendy's International as a manager-trainee. He moved up to assistant manager and then district manager. He worked for several years at Wendy's home office in Dublin, Ohio, in its training department.
He met Pat when she was in management with Wendy's, too.
They had a chance to go into partnership with other individuals to operate their own Wendy's restaurants in Southwest Virginia, and took it.
``We've moved a lot,'' Jeff said. ``We've been fortunate in all our moves, that we've been able to do it as a package deal, you might say. You get two for one.''
And that is what Pulaski County will soon be getting with Wendy's.
by CNB