By Jessica Borders
Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT —
The Hardee’s in Fairmont has recently gone through some exciting changes.
The restaurant, located at 2649 White Hall Blvd., has been transformed into a Hardee’s/Red Burrito location.
Jim Lutyens, vice president of operations and facilities for Restaurant Management Group, explained that a great menu of burritos and more has been added to Hardee’s menu of well established, popular items like Thickburgers, sandwiches and biscuits.
“It’s just an extension of our menu to include some fantastic Mexican-type food,” he said. “The kitchen is responsible for two kinds of different menus.”
From a customer’s point of view, they will still order their food from one person, but they can now choose from the Hardee’s menu board or the Red Burrito menu board, Lutyens said.
“Just two restaurants under the same roof,” he said.
The Red Burrito menu offers a variety of tacos and a number of different burritos, including the signature “Red Burrito.” Customers can also get quesadillas, nachos, taco salads and more.
“What we continually hear from our customers is the quality is just exceptional,” Lutyens said. “We don’t pretend to sell the least expensive taco or burrito in town, but we really believe we have the best.”
Restaurant Management Group operates 42 Hardee’s in five states: West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia. The company also runs 35 Little Caesars restaurants in the southeast. Lutyens lives in Fairmont and covers the 42 Hardee’s.
He said there are well over 100 Hardee’s/Red Burrito locations in the county, and more continue to open. The Fairmont restaurant is the first Hardee’s/Red Burrito in the state of West Virginia.
Restaurant Management Group had previously identified the store in Fairmont as a location that would be remodeled to reflect the current Hardee’s prototype restaurant design, Lutyens said. Since work was already planned for the local restaurant, the company thought the addition of Red Burrito would be a perfect fit.
“As we got ready to do it, we just thought it would be a good thing to add the Red Burrito concept to what we call the ‘Classic Star’ (decor),” he said.
“Classic Star” is a contemporized, 1950s look that uses a lot of stainless steel and barstool-height chairs and tables. Outside, a tower features the Hardee’s star, an icon that sets the restaurant apart, Lutyens said.
He said the store was closed for just nine days during the renovations.
The remodeling included an updated paint scheme to the exterior of the building, with the Hardee’s star painted on the side, Lutyens said. A bright red metal roof was added to help the store stand out, and more windows were installed to open up the restaurant. The lighting was also upgraded, and the kitchen was remodeled.
Hardee’s/Red Burrito offers “a great smile and fantastic service when customers come in,” he said. And so far, people have responded positively to the changes.
“It has been so encouraging,” Lutyens said. “We’ve gotten tremendous support back from the community.”
E-mail Jessica Borders at jborders@timeswv.com.
