Wayback Burgers, formerly Jakes, will mark its birthday next week with a special promotion as the company works to rebuild its presence in northern Delaware.
This follows the sudden closing of the original Ogletown Road, Newark location after a failure to fix problems cited in a state health inspection.
Gillian Plummer, vice president, marketing for Wayback confirmed that the location was permanently closed on Feb. 16. The location was slated to close in February after an anniversary celebration. However, the inspection issues led to a decision to close earlier, she said. Click here for more on the inspection of Wayback.
“Since opening our doors as Jake’s Hamburgers in 1991, the brand, known today as Wayback Burgers, has achieved iconic status among better burger enthusiasts in Delaware, evolving from a single burger joint to over 120 locations in 26 states and internationally in Argentina, Brunei, Morocco, Kuwait, Canada and Saudi Arabia. We have a great love and respect for Newark, as we consider it home,” Plummer said.
Jake’s expanded from the original location on Ogletown Road to other locations in northern Delaware that included Bear, New Castle, Elsmere and Claymont. However, those locations closed, leaving the company with restaurants in Newark and Middletown in New Castle County. (See previous story).
Wayback Burgers trims restaurant count in area as chain expands elsewhere
According to Plummer, “we are actively exploring other real estate opportunities in the area which will showcase our rebranded look and feel.”
Newark and northern Delaware offer an opportunity to showcase the new Wayback as well as a customer base familiar with the quality of the burgers and other offerings, she said. The company is actively looking for sites, but has not come up with a potential locations or locations, Plummer said.
She noted that Wayback will continue to have a restaurant at Rittenhouse Station, 250 South Main Street (formerly Elkton Road), in Newark. The Ogletown Road and Rittenhouse franchises were separately owned.
On Tuesday, Feb. 21, Wayback will celebrate its 26th birthday (the opening of the Ogletown Road location) by offering a two-for-one special on its Classic Burger.
“Again, thank you, Newark, for your tremendous support. We will continue to keep you apprised of our redevelopment efforts in the area as details become available,” Plummer stated.
