Construction Begins on Route 9’s Newest Fast-Food Chain

A new fast-food restaurant is under construction on Route 9 in Dutchess County.

For those who love to hit the drive-thru, there are some exciting new options coming to Route 9. In fact, there are about a dozen new fast-food joints that are either under construction or will be breaking ground this year from Hyde Park to Fishkill.

Local planning boards have yet to grant permission to some, while others are well on their way to opening day.

A Popeye's Restaurant is under consideration to replace the now-closed Romanelli's restaurant in front of Hannaford in Wappingers Falls. McDonald's is also currently seeking approval from the Town of Poughkeepsie to transform an old bank in front of Price Chopper into a state-of-the-art drive-thru restaurant.

You can scroll down the bottom of the article to see several other projects still in development, but recently one of those planned restaurants has finally begun construction.

You may have noticed construction crews working on the old Carl's Jr. on Route 9 near Crunch Fitness.

They've been hard at work reconfiguring the facade of the old building with an iconic square entranceway you might have seen before.

The remodeling is all part of a plan submitted to the Town of Poughkeepsie to transform the abandoned restaurant into a brand new Taco Bell.  The outdoor architectural changes are estimated to cost $125,000. More changes will be taking place inside the building, According to contractors, the kitchen equipment will be replaced, and the dining area will also get a complete remodel.

2018 saw the end of Carl's Jr. in the Hudson Valley. After rebranding itself from Hardee's throughout the Hudson Valley, the popular burger chain quietly started closing all of their locations. In April of 2018, the Carl's Jr. in Kingston closed their doors to customers and then a month later the location on Route 211 in Middletown followed suit. In June of that year, the Hudson Valley's final Carl's Jr. on Route 9 in Poughkeepsie was shuttered.

It's unclear when Taco Bell will open, but we'll be sure to keep you posted when they're ready to serve up their first Crunchwrap.