Wingstop Owner Listens to Outcry

Joe Sullivan lives on Westview Street, and he found out about the proposed Wingstop at 6700 Germantown Ave. by accident.

“I found out three weeks ago because I saw a group of men exiting the building, and I asked what was going on,” Sullivan said.

Executive Director of Mt. Airy USA Anuj Gupta told Sullivan that there had been a proposal to build a restaurant at that location.

A location that Sullivan says is 30 feet from his front door.

“I have a lot of issues,” Sullivan said.  “I have questions about parking, trash.  There’s no room for delivery trucks.”

Sullivan added, “This has nothing to do with the character or the business owner or the business.  I just think it’s the wrong business for that location.”

Sullivan and dozens of other Mt. Airy residents packed into St. Michael’s Lutheran Church on Thursday to express concerns they had as residents about the proposed restaurant.

State Rep. Cherelle Parker organized the meeting after several residents contacted her office.

“Someone called my office to express concern over a late liquor license posting,” Parker said.  “Over the course of the week, more and more people started calling my office.”

Many residents originally thought that the liquor license indicated that a bar was being constructed.

“It’s a family-style chain restaurant,” Parker said. 

She added that customers will be allowed to purchase beer at the restaurant, but that they would not be allowed to purchase beer for takeout. 

She also said that a lot of the animosity built up in the community was due to the process working backward from the way it usually does.

“Usually, you have a meeting before the process starts to get input from the community,” Parker said.  “This time, it happened backward.”

Gupta apologized at the meeting for his mistake.

“I only want to see the area elevated,” Gupta said.  “I live in the area.  I’m raising a family here.  There’s no point in taking on a project that six years from now my kids are going to say, ‘Dad, what were you thinking?’”

According to Gupta and business owner Richard Johnson, the restaurant will be a beacon to other business to come to Mt. Airy.

“I’ve made a significant investment in this property,” Johnson said.

Johnson has worked in the restaurant industry for 35 years.  He owned a McDonald’s in North Philadelphia, and he owns several Primo Hoagie franchises as well as a Wingstop that will open in Roxborough in July.

“I run a tight ship,” Johnson said.  “I’m putting my name on the line.  I treat my restaurants like I treat my house.”

Parker recommended that the most passionate people at the meeting, both for and against the restaurant, form a steering committee. 

That committee will make recommendations to Gupta and Johnson who will then respond at another public meeting.

Elizabeth Vander Veer Shak owns Mount Airy Violins & Bows, and she said that a business like this could really help Germantown Avenue.

“If we don’t want this business then what business do we want?” Vander Veer Shak asked the audience.  “There’s not a spot on Germantown Avenue that won’t have the same exact problems as this one.”

“When I first arrived in Mt. Airy, Germantown Avenue was a dead zone,” Vander Veer Shak said.  “What are we going to do?  Stay a dead zone?”