Another Burger King restaurant was demolished this week in the Naples area, but a new Burger King will be built in its place with two drive-thru lanes.
The new fast-food eatery at 5055 Golden Gate Parkway in Parkway Plaza in Golden Gate will be slightly larger but have fewer parking spaces on its 1-acre parcel. Demolition began this week and the estimated completion date for construction is in early 2022, development records show.
The former 3,237-square-foot Burger King had a single drive-thru lane. The new 3,349-square-foot BK will have dual drive-thru stations for ordering and single-lane payment and pickup windows. Collier County approved an administrative parking reduction, which will reduce the number of parking spaces from 39 to 32 at the home of the Whopper.
The project was initiated by Indiana-based Quality Dining Inc., which operates five of the seven Burger King franchises in Collier. Doing business as BravoFlorida LLC, QDI is the owner of more than 100 Burger King restaurants in Florida. The company reports that 65% to 70% of its sales are generated by drive-thru lanes. BravoFlorida expects that the new double-lane drive-thru at its Golden Gate location will increase drive-thru sales, reducing the need for parking.
In September, the company similarly demolished the longtime Burger King restaurant at Freedom Square in East Naples and is rebuilding it with a double drive-thru and less parking spaces.