Fast Food Restaurant Eyed for Whitney-Pearl

The new owner of the former Quality Catering site on the corner of Pearl and Whitney roads is seeking to rezone the area for a fast-food restaurant.

Attorney Nick Catanzarite, representing North Pearl LLC, said the company has not reached a deal with any restaurant yet, but is looking to bring in a fast-food chain.

"No end user is confirmed yet, but the plan is to have a fast food use on the hard corner," Catanzarite said.

North Pearl bought both the southwest corner parcel and the adjacent Quality Catering lot at sheriff's sale in December for $445,000.

City Council on Tuesday night introduced legislation to rezone the corner parcel from General Business to Restaurant-Recreational.

The adjacent lot is already zoned Restaurant-Recreational.

Catanzarite said there are no plans as yet to build on the parcel that housed Quality Catering, but said the lot may be developed in the future.

In the meantime, the building will come down. Catanzarite said crews are now removing asbestos, and expects the structure to be razed in the next three to four weeks.

It's not the first proposal for development on that corner. In 2010, Sheetz sought to build a gas station there, but council turned down the rezoning request after nearby residents objected.

Sheetz has since joined a development on the other side of Pearl Road.

Last year, Discount Tire sought to build a store there, but Strongville officials didn't like the plan because it did not include razing the Quality Catering building.

Across the street, rezonings have been approved for a Sheetz and for an O'Charley's restaurant.