The big wheel keeps on spinning for Big Wheel Burger, who are hoping to open their new Courtenay location in the next couple years.
President Calen McNeil says they have filed a building permit with the city and are hoping to get construction under way next spring.
However, the project has been in the works since 2018 and McNeil says numerous setbacks mean the Island burger chain has not been able to get this far up.
“We had planned to start the project pre-COVID, and then obviously COVID set that back and then price increases in construction hurt us,” said McNeil. “Then we made an error about a year ago in our building permit application process where we thought we had applied for a building permit, but we actually didn’t.”
McNeil says the new building permit had to be done from scratch, further delaying the process. But it is now in the system, and they are hoping to break ground on the corner of 10th Street and Cliffe Avenue next year and will hopefully open in the next two years.
He adds the building will not just be tailored to Big Wheel Burger, as it will include a retail outlet and a commercial office. The burger chain prides itself in using 100 per cent grass fed beef and sourcing much of their dairy and other products from Vancouver Island producers.
Around 20 employees will be needed to run the facility including a manager and two assistant managers, according to McNeil. The restaurant will also be open from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m.
He adds there could be the possibility of a food truck coming to the location before the building is ready, and potential plans to open another location soon and in Campbell River as well.
McNeil says the area is also very important to him and staff and the chain will fit well in the community.
“One of our senior team members is from Courtenay, and I used to live in Courtenay,” he said. “It’s a natural expansion point for us. I think the four-season market up there with tourism and mountain biking and the ski hill, just generally the people that live [here] are in our demographic.”
McNeil adds the organization also runs a foundation that has raised over $500,000 since the pandemic to benefit local communities.
