In 2025, Burger King set out to remodel 400 of its U.S. restaurants as part of a multi-year plan to modernize its franchise network. Those efforts may soon include the Mall 205-adjacent fast-food location at 10010 SE Stark Street, where Land Use Review 26-056462 seeks to update the location inside and out. All this comes as CNBC reports the brand recently overtook Wendy’s as the nation’s second-largest burger chain.
Wendy’s has reportedly experienced several straight quarters of U.S. sales losses while Burger King has worked to rehabilitate its image and earn back customers. This comeback is attributed in part to property investments and the hiring of head chef Amy Alarcon, who previously worked at Popeyes, designing that company’s chicken sandwich, which went viral on social media in 2019. The company also began courting vegetarian and vegan customers in 2019 with the plant-based WHOPPER ® burger made with Impossible meat, which customers can order without mayonnaise and have cooked on a separate surface to remove animal products.
Burger King is predominantly a franchise chain, with this location operated by Ambrosia QSR and the underlying property owned by Weston Investment Co. Portland businessman and developer Joseph Weston recently donated his remaining commercial properties to the Weston Public Foundation managed by Oregon Community Foundation. The franchise operator, Ambrosia QSR, operates over 200 Pacific Northwest restaurants under the Burger King, Arby’s, and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen brands. An Arby’s is next door to this location at 10071 SE Washington Street.
Investment in this area has rebounded among fast food establishments over the last few years, with the opening of a new Chick-fil-A a block over from the Burger King in January and Chipotle replacing a Baja Fresh storefront in 2024 across SE Washington Street from this location. City code allows renovation work at these pre-existing fast-food locations despite the area’s new zoning. City officials up-zoned much of the land in the Gateway Regional Center in the late 1990s, making this block Central Commercial (CX) which is designated for high-density commercial developments within Portland’s most urban spaces like the downtown area. If this were a completely new building project, the team would need to construct a much larger building to meet minimum density standards.
The remodel approach should also allow this store to retain its drive-through facility. A 2018 Portland City Council-enacted ban on new drive-throughs in commercial zones has prompted many existing Eastside restaurant locations to remodel. The pre-existing status has elevated the location’s value, as businesses seek to retain historical uses that would not be allowed under new building standards. This project is in the early planning stages and may change based on city feedback or other business decisions. However, it represents further investment in the Mall 205 area among fast food and established national brands.
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