Town Planning Committee to deliberate on application following hearing on Monday

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Wendy's/Marco's Pizza franchise owner last evening defended plans to introduce the restaurants on Paradise Island, stating: "We just don't quite get what the fuss is about."

Chris Tsavoussis, along with his brother Terry who are the principals of Aetos Holdings, plan to construct a Wendy's and Marcos Pizza at the old Scotiabank location on Paradise Island. Chris Tsavoussis said that significant planning has gone into mitigating any impact on the neighboring community amid concerns, particularly from Paradise Island hotels.

During a packed Town Planning public hearing on Monday evening, Vaughn Robert, Atlantis' Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Special Projects, contended that he had seen no site plan for the project and raised concerns over traffic congestion.

Chris Tsavoussis said: "There have been traffic studies done as it relates to drive thru's. In this instance, there is no drive-thru. It's a walk-up-only scenario. This site doesn't lend itself to a drive-thru. It's something my brother and I never thought about doing. The guests and the customers will be from the surrounding area."

Tsavoussis said he anticipates that the restaurants will generate less traffic than the bank caused at the location.

"We do not anticipate this to be a vehicular destination. If we need to do a valet situation, we are prepared to do that," he said.

One attendee questioned how the developers would handle rodents. To this, Tsavoussis replied" "We operate Wendy's and Marco's Pizza. The way those businesses run they are international brands. If you have a rodent in your restaurant, you're dead in the water. You close your shop. There is no room for error there. We do a tremendous amount of mitigation for rodents on the exterior.  In some instances, we clean up the rodent problem in neighborhoods. That's what we have found."

Paradise Island resort properties recently renewed their objections to the Wendy's and Marco's Pizza franchise owners' plans to convert the former Scotia Bank building into fast food restaurants, arguing that it would be damaging the overall Paradise Island brand, future tourism growth, and local food vendors

The proposed establishment is said to have the potential to create between 75 to 100 jobs. Psomi Holdings, the corporate entity behind the transformation of a former Scotiabank branch, saw its prior approval nullified due to insufficient public consultation.

The roots of this issue date back to the original 'change of use' application for the former Scotiabank site, filed by Aetos Holdings, the Wendy's and Marco's Pizza Bahamian franchisee, in March 2022. This was a time when COVID restrictions still dictated the conduct of public meetings. The Appeals Board found that this hearing failed to meet the Act's requirements for public consultation. As a result, the original approval was overruled. 

The seven-member Town Planning Committee will meet next Wednesday to deliberate on the application.

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