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Wendy’s Great Falls

As fast-food consumers’ habits and expectations evolve, a new generation of Wendy’s restaurants is responding. A Wendy’s restaurant in Great Falls, Montana, is one of the first of a next-generation model being built in the state.

Wendy’s redesigned prototype is being rolled out to accommodate patron preferences, technology advancements, and employee efficiencies. Wentana, owner of the Montana franchises, needed a design firm that could handle all aspects of the rollout, from land surveying through construction administration. Cushing Terrell, as a multi-disciplinary design firm, adeptly took on the project, deploying a skilled team to manage all facets.

The restaurant redesign was prompted by an evolution in how people dine out. The way customers prefer to order, how employees take care of orders, and how an establishment communicates with customers — before, during, and after the transaction — have all impacted fast-casual restaurant design.

Supporting a New Era in Fast-Casual Dining

Aspects of the new prototype include a technology-driven focus, with more digital interfaces supporting high-efficiency transactions. Previously, patrons in any quick-service restaurant were accustomed to lining up at a counter, placing their order, stepping to the side, and waiting for their food. The more contemporary layout allows for more space to wait and an additional area for pick-up orders placed online or through delivery services.

Traffic flow is also enhanced, both inside and outside. The interior is crafted for different visit types, whether families who come in for a sit-down meal, a student ordering on the app for pick-up, or a patron on lunch break making a quick run through the drive-thru. The drive-thru itself has undergone a transformation, with digital technology replacing previous menu-board iterations.

Site-Specific Services

For this new Wendy’s location west of downtown Great Falls, Cushing Terrell prepared civil construction documents to accommodate the new site development, which required a new sewer service and grease interceptor, new water services, storm drainage system and piping, site grading, pavements, and accessibility design. We also prepared a stormwater report for the new site development, which connects to an existing storm sewer system.

The team performed full structural design and integration with the prototype drawings. The building is sited on heavy clay soils, so the design had to incorporate foundation and slab design in accordance with the geotechnical report. Permitting was rapid and efficient, due to Cushing Terrell’s knowledge of the process and relationships built over time. The design team accelerated this phase and delivered the required permits in an expedited timeframe.

The new Wendy’s is the third of this new design in the country and the first in Montana. It began welcoming all patrons — no matter their ordering and dining preferences — in fall 2024.

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