WARSAW – Just 72 days after beginning construction, the Burger King restaurant in Warsaw reopened Wednesday morning, June 30.

The new store at 2920 Frontage Road was constructed after the original building at the same site was demolished.

The new restaurant features the latest quick-service restaurant décor and innovation, according to a news release from the parent company, Quality Dining Inc.

Officials hosted a reopening ceremony Wednesday, featuring a flag-raising ceremony by VFW Post 1126 Honor Guard members. The National Anthem was performed by members of the Warsaw Community High School band. Some emergency responders also attended.

Quality Dining also presented a $500 donation to the VFW post.

The new store includes a double drive-thru with new digital menu boards outside that lead to faster service. The new restaurant also showcases Kosciusko County’s unique history, including a wall of photographs near the main entrance dedicated to local heritage.

Customers can stop in and register to win a free 55-inch Roku Television through July 30 as part of the re-opening celebration.

Construction of the new building shows the commitment Quality Dining has to its presence in Warsaw, said Dan Fitzpatrick, CEO of Quality Dining, who has been with the company for several decades.

“How can you not like Warsaw? The transformation that’s occurred here since I’ve been in northern Indiana … has been phenomenal,” Fitzpatrick said.

The former store, which opened 36 years ago, was getting “old in the tooth” and was lacking accomodations for new technology, he said.

“When the bones are a little tired, you gotta make some significant changes. It made sense to raze the old building and put this one up,” he said.

Fitzpatrick, who became a store manager at the age of 18 and moved up through the ranks quickly, said they are seeking to hire more people for the store and said they’d like to have as many as 50 employees.

“This is all about young people having opportunity. All these kids here are potential managers. We just gotta coach them up and show them how to be great leaders,” he said.

Quality Dining owns and operates 37 Burger Kings in northern Indiana and southwest Michigan and has another 110 in Florida. The company is also a franchisee of Chili’s restaurant and owns Papa Vino’s restaurant.

Dan Spalding contributed to this report.