JAMAICANS who love their burgers and fries can anticipate a new addition to their favourite outlets, Burger King and Popeyes operated by Restaurant Associates of Jamaica (ROJ).

The new restaurant, which is currently under construction, is located on the corner lot at the intersection of Hope Road and Waterloo Road in Kingston property which was the subject of a dispute between developer Richard Lake and businessman Dwight Moore who operated a car dealership on the site.

The property, for which the address is 1 Waterloo Road, was purchased by Caribbean Resources Limited (CRL), owned by Richard Lake, at public auction in 2018. Consideration was $190 million.

The land dispute grabbed headlines four years ago, but has apparently been settled since. Restaurants Associates of Jamaica has started the process of constructing a new store on the site, which will house a new Burger King and Popeyes restaurant. The company, according to its website, has stores in Kingston and St Andrew, Montego Bay, St Ann, in Negril and Savanna-la-Mar, Mandeville, May Pen and in St Catherine.

The Jamaica Observer reached out to get an update on the new development and completion timelines, but ROJ said that this would be shared at a later date.

At last update, ROJ, which is owned by entrepreneur Richard Lake, operated 28 stores islandwide and employed over 1000 workers.

Burger King opened its first restaurant on the island in Ocho Rios in December 1985.

The Burger King store located in Half-Way-Tree, opposite the Half-Way-Tree Transport Centre in Kingston, is its number one seller. The store has operated since 1987, four years after the founding of Restaurant Associates of Jamaica.

The new store will be within a mile’s radius of the best-selling locale, but positioned to cater to traffic flowing from Hope Road or clients from the Waterloo Road nexus who wish to avoid the congested Half-Way-Tree town centre.