“At that location, we basically negotiated a buyout on the lease,” said Denny Lynch,…
By Chris Fuchs
The Wendy’s restaurant on Main Street in Flushing, where five workers were brutally murdered and two others wounded last spring, has been sold to an unidentified buyer.
“At that location, we basically negotiated a buyout on the lease,” said Denny Lynch, a spokesman at Wendy’s International’s corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ohio. “We never reopened, so we’re not going back to that location.”
The Wendy’s, at 40-12 Main St. in Flushing, has been shuttered since the May 26 massacre, in which two gunmen marched seven workers into the basement of the restaurant, placed bags over their heads, and bound and gagged them, shooting each execution-style. Five of them died.
Last month, Craig Godineaux pleaded guilty to a 50-count indictment under which he and John Taylor, the second man accused of the murders, were charged. Taylor, however, pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.
Wendy’s International is still searching for property in Flushing, to open up another restaurant, Lynch said. “We are committed to finding another location in Flushing, but that’s not going to be easy,” he said. “It’s a densely populated area, and there aren’t a lot of locations.”
The property on Main Street was leased for “well over a decade,” Lynch said, from Victor Nevins, a resident of Whitestone who is the owner, according to Marilyn Bitterman, the district manager of Community Board 7. Lynch said he did not know to whom the property was sold.
Months ago, there was some discussion about turning the former restaurant into a memorial for the murdered workers, a proposal that had initially worried Bitterman until it was discarded.
“It’s a prime piece of real estate,” she said. “I can be sure that realistically it will be developed.”
According to an article in The New York Times last week, the property had an assessed value last year of $508,500 and was owned by the Nevins family for more than 50 years. Nevins, whose office, Victor Nevins Realty, is located on Third Avenue in Whitestone, did not respond to phone messages seeking comment.
Reach reporter Chris Fuchs by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 156.
