By Eric Fetters
Herald Writer
EVERETT — If you’re hungry for a Whopper, don’t try the Burger King in north Everett right now.
The fast food outlet at 2424 N. Broadway closed last week, reportedly because of slow business and an apparent disagreement between its franchisee and Burger King Corp.
Franchisee Great Northwest Foods of Auburn also has closed seven other Burger Kings in Seattle, Tacoma and Bellevue.
Burger King Corp., however, says it intends to remodel and reopen all the restaurants.
On Wednesday afternoon, a sign company worker was covering the sign at the Everett Burger King with black plastic. All the doors and windows were boarded up.
Bill Hulslander, who lives across the street from the restaurant at the corner of 25th Street and Broadway, said it was open through Saturday before closing suddenly.
"Every day, people drive in here thinking it’s open," he said, adding that the restaurant seemed to be busy before its closure.
Great Northwest Foods said in a letter posted at some of the closed locations that a regional and national decline in fast food sales hurt the restaurants.
The letter added that Great Northwest Foods tried to work with Burger King to address the declines, but the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement. Dave Shaw, a partner in Great Northwest Foods, could not be reached for further comment.
In a statement from the company’s headquarters in Miami, Burger King said it "consensually agreed" with Great Northwest Foods to close the eight locations in the Puget Sound area. It refers to Shaw as a former franchisee.
"Burger King Corporation believes the individual restaurants are economically viable and plans to remodel and reopen the restaurants as quickly as possible," the company added.
They could be reopened either as company-owned locations or under another franchisee, said Laina Hanna, a spokeswoman for Burger King.
"We’re looking at the options … but we’re definitely committed to getting those restaurants reopened," she said.
Other Burger King restaurants in Snohomish County, including a half-dozen others in Everett, are owned by different franchisees and are not affected.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
You can call Herald Writer Eric Fetters at 425-339-3453 or send e-mail to fetters@heraldnet.com.
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