MOUNT VERNON — Two-and-a-half years after Jake’s Steakhouse closed on Mount Vernon’s east end, a new beef-based business is set to take its place.
Burger King is expected to open at 996 Coshocton Ave. on Monday, district manager Jim Pickett said, pending the completion of several final steps.
The restaurant will need to pass its final construction inspection this week, Pickett said Tuesday, and will also need to be cleaned. The store is expected to receive supply shipments this week as well.
If these final steps are completed, Pickett said the store will open Monday around 10:30 a.m. – just in time for lunch.
“They’ve still got a lot to do yet,” he reiterated.
The new Burger King will employ 25 people, Pickett said. The hiring process began roughly a month ago, he added, and new hires are currently being trained at Mount Vernon’s other Burger King, located at 9 Martinsburg Rd. on the city’s south end.
“We want to be a good neighbor and provide jobs,” said Pickett, who oversees seven Burger King franchises across the region.
Burger King was founded in Florida in 1954 and now serves more than 11 million customers daily, according to its website. It is the second-largest fast-food hamburger chain in the world behind McDonald’s.
The restaurant is famous for “The Whopper” – a quarter-pound of flame-grilled beef topped with tomatoes, lettuce, mayonnaise, ketchup, pickles, and sliced white onions on a sesame seed bun. It serves a variety of beef and chicken sandwiches (including the plant-based “Impossible Whopper”), as well as sides – everything from traditional French fries to cheesy tots and jalapeño cheddar bites – and desserts.
Burger King is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The new Mount Vernon location will take the place of Jake’s Steakhouse, which closed in September 2019 after 18 years in business.
Burger King’s parent company, Carrols Corporation, bought the property for $875,000 on Sept. 8, 2021, according to records from the Knox County auditor’s office. The City of Mount Vernon had already issued zoning and stormwater permits for the property in January 2021, Development Services Manager Lacie Blankenhorn said.
The city issued a demolition permit for the property on Sept. 15 – one week after it was purchased by Carrols Corporation – and construction began that day. Demolition crews spent the next several weeks tearing down the old steakhouse, then laying the foundation for a brand-new Burger King.
The 3,235-square-foot restaurant will have a 950-square-foot inside dining area with a seating capacity of 58.
The city issued a zoning permit for signage on Dec. 1, 2021, and over the next two months, finishing touches were put on the property. Burger King is expected to open its second Mount Vernon location next week, wrapping up the five-month construction process.
