A decades-old drive-thru fast-food burger chain that announced a comeback earlier this year is nearing the opening of one of its two planned locations.Hot ‘n Now, founded in Kalamazoo, is planning a summer opening of its first location at 1146 129th N. Ave. in Wayland, south of Grand Rapids and off of U.S.-131.Known for its ultra-inexpensive sliders, olive burgers and cheesy taters, Hot ‘n Now’s Michigan revival is from a partnership between Gun Lake Investments (GLI), a Grand Rapids-based tribal economic development corporation, and Alpena business owner and developer Jeff Konczak.The partnership formed HNN Holdings LLC and acquired the Hot ‘n Now name last October and announced two planned locations in January.
HNN Holdings, according to its January announcement, planned to maintain Hot ‘n Now’s affordable menu concept.
For the Wayland location, a 737-square-foot drive-thru building that includes Hot ‘n Now’s famed red metal roof is being built and assembled at Konczak’s company, B Cubed Manufacturing, in Alpena.
Konczak’s company makes modular drive-thru buildings like the ones used at Biggby Coffee. The company uses a “plug and play’ concept, manufacturing the building off-site and assembling it on-site.
When the Wayland location opens, located behind GLI’s Noonday Market and across from Gun Lake Casino, its hours will be 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 10:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.While the building is being completed, a culinary staff is working on the state-of-the-art kitchen setup that will feature equipment to cook food fast.
“The Hot ‘n Now brand has a multi-decade history of providing value to families, so we intend to honor that history in this next chapter with our hyper-value focused pricing,” said Monica King, CEO of GLI, in a news release.
GLI is owned by the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi, also known as the Gun Lake Tribe.
“Rather than limiting affordability to a few items, our entire menu will be priced to accommodate a wide range of households and incomes,” Konczak said. “We are confident that consumers will see this new chapter as the logical next iteration of the Hot ‘n Now brand.”A website, hot-n-now.com, has been established where consumers can stay updated on construction and sign up to receive notifications about future announcements.
Construction is set to begin soon for the Alpena location, at 320 Johnson St., with an October opening planned, the company said.
Hot ‘n Now started in the early 1980s and was eventually known as the spot for a 39-cent burger. Over the years, the chain was acquired several times and once operated under Taco Bell, then a subsidiary of PepsiCo. Once known as Hot Brands Inc., based in Holt, the company operated 44 Hot ‘n Now locations in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Indiana, according to a 2003 Free Press report. The company later filed for bankruptcy. Michigan’s only Hot ‘n Now location remains in Sturgis at 609 S. Centerville Road, near the Indiana-Michigan border.
Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Revived Hot ‘n Now burger chain plans summer opening of location near Grand Rapids
Reporting by Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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