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WILKES-BARRE TWP. &#8212; You can&#8217;t get burgers and tater tots at the defunct Kidder Street Sonic restaurant, and it looks like you&#8217;re not going to be getting roast beef there, either.Thomas Zedolik, zoning and code enforcement officer for Wilkes-Barre Township, confirmed he was contacted by two separate Arby&#8217;s representatives regarding the Sonic site, but both &#8220;fell through.&#8221; Zedolik said there is no news to report about the Sonic building.&#8220;We have no commitments regarding that property,&#8221; Zedolik said. &#8220;There have only been a few discussions with parties that were interested, but nothing came of those talks.&#8221;Arby&#8217;s announced last week that it has closed its restaurant in the Wyoming Valley Mall food court.Matthew Lange of MRL Ventures V LLC, Binghamton, N.Y., operated the Arby&#8217;s restaurant in the mall. Last week, Lange did say that Arby&#8217;s is working on a new project, but that he would not be the franchisee. He indicated an Arby&#8217;s will be announced to open in the Wilkes-Barre area soon.&#8220;Arby&#8217;s is not leaving town,&#8221; Lange said last Tuesday.Arby&#8217;s has other corporate locations in Luzerne County &#8212; on Pierce Street in Kingston and Route 315 in Pittston Township.Panera updateZedolik said work could begin soon in the Wilkes-Barre Township Commons that was devastated by last year&#8217;s tornado. The buildings were severely damaged and condemned and demolished.Zedolik said he is awaiting a letter regarding a line of credit and once that is received, he will issue the necessary permits. He said Sordoni Construction Co. will be the contractor.A new, free-standing Panera Bread will be built on the site, along with another building that will house several retail stores. Zedolik said Urban Edge Properties of New Jersey intends to build there.&#8220;We expect the project to begin soon,&#8221; Zedolik said. &#8220;It could happen any day now.&#8221;Zedolik said a lot of people are patiently waiting for Panera Bread, a popular spot for shoppers, to return to the plaza located off of Mundy Street.The Wilkes-Barre Township Commons was hit hard by the June 2018 tornado &#8212; the new plan to rebuild the plaza has been submitted and approved, but a few more approvals are needed, Zedolik said.Chick-fil-A/Mission BBQZedolik said Chick-fil-A will open Thursday. The building remodeling is complete of the former Lucky&#8217;s Sporthouse.The building has been gutted and repurposed, Zedolik said, and the new Chick-fil-A will feature drive-thru service.Zedolik said he expected Mission BBQ on Mundy Street to open before Christmas. He said the buildings is nearing completion.Burger King/Turkey HillZedolik said the new Burger King at Route 309 and Blackman Street is also moving forward. He said the developer is expected to close on the property this month.He said construction could then soon on the project.Across Blackman Street, construction of the new Turkey Hill is not expected to commence until spring 2020, he said.Zedolik said several existing buildings on Route 309 and Blackman Street, which once housed a repair garage, a bar and other businesses &#8212; along with three private homes &#8212; were purchased by Turkey Hill&#8217;s new parent company, United Kingdom-based E.G. Group. He said everything will be demolished and a new Turkey Hill will be built.In April, Cindy Rantanen, vice president of brands and public relations for E.G. America, said the company has the property under contract. She said five properties were purchased from four different owners and the site measures 3 acres. Rantanen said the plan is to begin construction in spring 2020 and the new Turkey Hill will include a full convenience store, a fast food restaurant with a brand partner still to be named, a car wash and fuel stations.2 new hotelsZedolik said work is progressing on two new hotels being built near Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.Zedolik said developer Minu Desai of Allentown is building a Home2 Suites by Hilton &#8212; a four-story hotel with 106 rooms on 4.21 acres of land adjacent to the Highland Park Senior Living facility.According to the company&#8217;s website, Home2 Suites offers large units with kitchens and are usually rented for extended periods of time.In May, it was announced that a new Residence Inn also will be built near the Mohegan Sun Arena on Highland Park Boulevard &#8212; a four-story, 110-room hotel that will face Interstate 81. Zedolik said the property is owned by Singh Realty.<style>
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<div class="neCaption">The former Sonic restaurant on Kidder Street is seen recently. Despite inquiries, plans for Arby&#8217;s to take over the site have fallen through, the Times Leader learned on Tuesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/web1_SONIC-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>The former Sonic restaurant on Kidder Street is seen recently. Despite inquiries, plans for Arby&#8217;s to take over the site have fallen through, the Times Leader learned on Tuesday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Roger DuPuis | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Bill O&#8217;Boyleboboyle@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div>

Official: Arby’s plans for Kidder Street Sonic site ‘fell through’