West Allis mayor calls out Burger King on X for 'whopper of a blighted property'

Burger King’s court is overgrown in West Allis and the mayor isn’t jesting that he wants something done about this “Whopper of a blighted property.”

Mayor Dan Devine said the former Burger King property on 106th and Greenfield gets regular complaints from neighbors. He said the Burger King has been abandoned since at least 2012, according to city documents.

While driving past the property Oct. 5, the mayor decided to pull over and take some photos to send to city code enforcement.

However, he instead posted the photos to X: “Hey @BurgerKing! 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 several years? Thanks in advance!”

Within 24 hours the post on X — formerly Twitter — received more than 12,500 views.

Devine said he’d heard of many humorous interactions on the social media platform with brands like Wendy’s so he thought it was time to try something else to get the company’s attention. He said he understands the neighbors' frustration and was “trying to find a more creative avenue to maybe get some attention to this issue and this property.”

It worked. Burger King responded publicly within minutes saying this “does not rule” and asked Devine to send them a direct message.

He did, but hasn’t heard back.

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

As a result of the complaints to code enforcement, he said, "we’ve had contractors out there probably about 100 times since 2017 to deal with graffiti or maintenance on that property.”

Last May, the city attorney for West Allis sent a “notice of nuisance” to Burger King, a subsidiary of Restaurant Brands International, which also owns Tim Hortons, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs. Devine described these notices as a special procedure in Wisconsin state law to deal with blighted properties.

Devine said the company was considering putting a Popeyes on the site.

“I don’t know if that’s genuine or that’s just there to hold us off,” Devine said. “This corporation has enough money to pay the taxes on it, but they just are not concerned about the neighborhood and the blight that it’s causing in our city."

The Journal Sentinel reached out to Burger King but did not immediately hear back.

Contact Erik S. Hanley aterik.hanley@jrn.com. Like his Facebook page,The Redheadliner, and follow him on Twitter@Redheadliner.