Arby's to open next spring in former Yorkville Hardee's

They have the meats, and now so will Yorkville.

Lynn Dubajic, the city's economic development consultant, confirmed this week that Arby's will locate in a former Hardee's restaurant at 1508 N. Bridge St.

In a report to the Yorkville City Council's Economic Development Committee, Dubajic said construction documents are in process and work is slated to begin this fall with a projected spring opening.

The restaurant opening is projected to generate around 30 new jobs, Dubajic said.

Yonas Hagos of Yorkville will be the restaurant franchisee, Dubajic said. Hagos currently owns 16 Dunkin Donuts restaurants, including seven combo Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins stores, and has another two under construction, Dubajic said. He also owns a Pet Supply Plus and has three more under construction.

This will be his first Arby's, Dubajic said.

Hagos said Tuesday that he will either demolish the current building or gut the interior down to the studs. Either way, he said the restaurant will be a new modern Arby's restaurant.

Hagos said he expects to open in February or March, depending on the weather this winter. He hopes to start work on the restaurant in late October.

This will be the third fast food chain to locate in the building - Hardee's moved into the site in 2014 and a Burger King had been there from 1988 to 2013.

The closest Arby's to Yorkville are in Plano and in Oswego. Arby's has 3,415 stores worldwide, in seven countries, according to its website. The chain was founded in Boardman, Ohio in 1964 by Forrest and Leroy Raffel, according to the website.