Better Ask Barry: Where’s the new Fosters Freeze?

There is nothing fast about building a fast food restaurant.

A new Fosters Freeze in Salinas, first announced in 2018, is still about a year away from serving its first meal.

Fosters Freeze has been around since the mid 1940s and is one of California’s oldest fast food restaurants.

Last year, plans for a new Salinas location were announced but there is no sign of a restaurant.

A KION viewer asked Barry, “What ever happened?”

It doesn’t look like anything has happened at the corner of San Juan Grade and Boronda Road. There is a Lowes. There is land to build on. Getting something built, however, has taken time.

Part of the delay is because of the restaurant’s new-look design.

“It’s very new. New age, I guess. It’s a modern retro version of what Fosters’ traditional buildings have been in the past,” said owner/partner Bruce Abbott.

Getting the design approved took longer than expected. Lowes insisted that the Fosters design conform to Lowe’s architectural plan for the center. Features like the restaurant’s stonework were changed to match Lowe’s stonework.

The City of Salinas approved the design in April 2019. The site plan was approved in September.

Building permits have yet to be filed, but once they are approved, construction will begin in early 2020.

“We expect our opening date to be probably about the third quarter of 2020,” said Abbott.

Fosters Freeze is still operating its original location on South Main St. in Salinas.

Serving burgers at a new location? Not so fast.

KION 2019