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Burger King Restaurant to close in Summerside

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Burger King Restaurant to close in Summerside

SUMMERSIDE — Summerside’s last whopper will be served on New Year’s Eve.

After 25 successful years of business, Summerside’s Burger King is closing its doors.

P.E.I.’s Burger King franchise owner and operator Bush Dumville says he is sad to come to the end of a major chapter in his life.

“It’s been a wonderful experience. It’s never easy, but you have to move on,” said Dumville, who is originally from O’Leary.

Dumville brought the Burger King franchise to the Island 31 years ago. He opened the Charlottetown Burger King in 1979 and opened the Burger King here on Harbour Drive in 1986.

Dumville signed a 20-year contract in 1986 and five years ago, even though Burger King agrees solely to 20-year franchise agreements, was able to get a five-year extension based on the promise that Summerside’s downtown area was being developed.

“Unfortunately the town has shifted. A lot of the economic development of the town has shifted away from where we’re at. It just seems commercialization has taken Summerside inland,” said the owner.

Dumville’s franchise agreement will terminate on Friday, Dec. 31. In order to extend his contract he would have had to sign on for another 20 years. He says at his age he is not prepared to do so.

“I’m getting a little long in the tooth,” Dumville said with a smile. “If I were 30 years younger I probably wouldn’t hesitate but it’s gotta be somebody that’s younger than me.”

He added that his involvement in Island politics as an MLA also impacted his decision to cut back his commitments.

Dumville says what he will miss most is “the people.” He spent a majority of the past 25 years working hands on in the restaurant - helping with lunch hours, supporting staff and dealing with finances and customer issues. He speaks proudly of his close relationship with his staff.

“It’s quite amazing. I probably kept 100 people employed, that’s a great bit of satisfaction for me ... they are very talented people. I’d like to thank them and the public for 25 years,” he said, with a lump in his throat.

There are currently about 20 people employed at the Summerside Burger King.

Although the owner is sad to see the Summerside restaurant close, he has high hopes the whopper will make a return to the city. He suggests the Home of the Whopper be downsized and moved uptown to the County Fair Mall area.

“I hate to see the whopper temporarily leaving Summerside. We had a 140-seat restaurant down here and it’s quite dated. It would work really well uptown with maybe 80 or 90 seats ... there is a market here for Burger King,” Dumville recommended.

Dumville remains the owner and operator of the Charlottetown Burger King.

 

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