Abandoned Burger King set to be demolished as West Allis finally has it their way

• West Allis
• Burger King

It looks like the beef between the City of West Allis and Burger King has finally come to an end.

Mayor Dan Devine announced on Friday, Dec. 8, that Burger King has decided to raze the abandoned Burger King building that has been sitting vacant for over a decade.

The demolition is set to begin around Dec. 27, according to the mayor's tweets.

Back on Oct. 5, Devine called the burger chain out on X saying: “Since ‘I rule’ could you please help me and do something with this ‘Whopper’ of a blighted property (on 106th and Greenfield) that has been an eyesore for West Allis for several years? Thanks in advance!”

The official Burger King account on X responded within minutes asking Devine to send them a private message. He did, but the company did not reply, until recently, according to the mayor.

“It’s very frustrating that it’s such a blight and on such a main intersection,” Devine said at the time.

To add heat to the fire, a few days later on Oct. 9, the city filed a lawsuit against Burger King.

Devine confirmed the lawsuit in a tweet on Oct. 13.

The suit focused on two issues – the existing issue that has been a problem for West Allis for at least six years and possibly up to 11 new violations found since the notice of nuisance was issued, according to City Attorney Kail Decker.

“It appears that the entire electrical service was removed from the building," Decker said.

The property is currently overgrown with weeds, but is it still legally owned by Burger King Company, LLC. Burger King is a subsidiary of Restaurants Brands International, but Decker stated the city is suing the listed property owner as opposed to RBI.

Decker previously sent Burger King a notice of nuisance in May. He said the company responded with a few repairs, such as fixing a broken window, but left broken glass on the ground, and painting over rotting wood. Decker said the paint bubbled off in under a few months.

“All we want is the property activated,” Decker said, adding the city is fine if Burger King reopens or if they sell the property to another user. “The only outcome we’re trying to avoid is just more of the same.”

Contact Adrienne Davis at amdavis@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @AdriReportss.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Erik Hanley contributed to this report.