Courtesy Photo The new Hot ‘n Now B Cubed building slated to open in Wayland sits nearly complete at the B Cubed facility in Alpena. A Hot ‘n Now will also open in Alpena in the fall.

ALPENA — The relaunch of the Hot ‘n Now franchise is nearing its reality as the first of a pair of new fast-food buildings are getting close to being erected.

Alpena developer Jeff Konczak and his partner, Gun Lake Investments, purchased the franchise late last year. Hot ‘n Now was a staple in the fast-food industry for many years before the franchise suffered mass closures around the country.

The last existing Hot ‘n Now is located in Sturgis, but that is about to change soon, as new locations are slated to open in Alpena and another near the Gun Lake Casino in Wayland.

Based in Grand Rapids, GLI is an economic development corporation wholly owned by the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi, also known as the Gun Lake Tribe. Gun Lake Investments manages a private, non-gaming portfolio of equity and debt investments in real estate and operating companies.

The new restaurants will use B Cubed structures built in Alpena and will be drive-through only, much like the original Hot ‘n Now buildings. It will be built at the food park on Johnson Street next to Biggby Coffee and Quiznos.

Konczak said the first new Hot ‘n Now will open this summer in Gun Lake and then the one in Alpena should be open in the fall.

The B Cubed structure for Gun Lake is nearing completion and ready to be installed and work has already begun for the one in Alpena, Konczak said.

In a press release Tuesday, Konczak and Gun Lake Investments said patrons will see the restaurant’s signature items on the menu, such as The Olive Burger and Cheesy Taters, along with their wallet-friendly prices, which should help make the franchise appealing to other investors and people who want quality food without breaking the bank.

“Rather than limiting affordability to a few items, our entire menu will be priced to accommodate a wide range of households and incomes,” Konczak said. “We are confident that consumers will see this new chapter as the logical next iteration of the Hot ‘n’ Now brand.”

Once the Wayland location opens, it will operate from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and from 10:30 am to 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. The restaurant is located at 1146 129th Avenue, directly behind Gun Lake Investment’s Noonday Market and across the street from Gun Lake Casino.

The operating times for Alpena will be announced in the future.

While the building is being completed, the team’s culinary staff is putting the finishing touches on the kitchen setup, including the installation of state-of-the-art cooking equipment that will cook the food rapidly while delivering the great taste customers expect.

Konczak said as the new B Cubed structure, which is a prototype, is completed it won’t take long to complete the structure for the Alpena location.

“We have already started on the building for Alpena and the floor and frame are complete, so things are coming along,” Konczak said. “It will be identical to the one going up in Gun Lake.”

Hot ‘n Now stores were easy to point out, as they had a unique design, with a small-footprint building with a tall, slanted roof. Konczak said the B Cubed buildings will be customized to resemble the original stores.

Since Konczak announced the purchase of the Hot ‘n Now franchise, which made headlines across the country, he said the response to it has been huge and investors are lining up to open their own locations. That, he said, is exciting, but he added that before issuing other franchises to investors, he wants to make sure things are going well with the first two locations and the new models of the B Cubed building.

“There has been significant interest in the franchise, as we expected,” Konczak said. “But, we also want to walk before we run and want to make sure we can work out any kinks there might be in the prototype.”

Over the years, the franchise changed hands several times and eventually went into bankruptcy in 2004 after changes to operations, management, marketing, and the menu. Konczak said he will use modern technology and best practices to return the restaurant chain back to its glory days.

Konzak said more information about the new Hot ‘n Now stores will be available at hot-n-now.com, which will be updated as the openings near and the franchise grows. People can also sign up for email updates on new news and developments.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@TheAlpenaNews.com. Follow him on X @ss_alpenanews.com.