Eatery goes up in flame-broiled flash, now serving loads of Whoppers

They don’t call it the fast-food business for nothing.

A little more than two months after breaking ground on a 5,773-square-foot restaurant at 1514 Bradley Park Drive in Columbus, a brand new Burger King is now serving loads of Whoppers and fries.

The lunchtime crowd was booming and the parking lot was full Wednesday at the outlet, which is situated between Starbucks Coffee and Cracker Barrel Old Country Store at the corner of Bradley Park Drive and Belfast Avenue.

Crews began clearing ground in early to mid-October on the 1.56-acre site. City building permits show Global Building Contractors handling the construction.

The owner of the property is Columbus-based Schuster Enterprises, which operates more than 60 Burger King fast-food eateries in the Southeast. This will be the 17th location in the Columbus-Phenix City market, demonstrating local residents’ penchant for flame-broiled Whoppers.

Burger King is a major competitor for McDonald’s and Wendy’s, both of which have had locations on Bradley Park Drive for years, with the shopping and dining area experiencing sharp growth before nearby Columbus Park Crossing made its debut more than a decade ago.

Major brands in the area include Publix, Target, PetSmart, Stein Mart, O’Charleys and Chick-fil-A. The grandaddy of businesses on Bradley Park Drive is Bowlero, a bowling alley formerly known as AMF Peach Lanes, which has been operating since 1978.

This story was originally published December 28, 2016 at 5:20 PM with the headline "Eatery goes up in flame-broiled flash, now serving loads of Whoppers."