Restaurants in central Ohio bulldozed to make way for Chick-fil-A, Sheetz

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Fast food chain Chick-fil-A and gas station Sheetz are expanding by bulldozing several central Ohio restaurants, including demolishing a Buca di Beppo, a chicken wing eatery and several Max and Erma's locations.

Chick-fil-A recently launched a new location on the former site of a long-standing Tee Jaye's Country Place in Clintonville and is planning to raze Buca di Beppo in Worthington along with Mackenzie River, a former Max and Erma's, near Polaris. Meanwhile, Sheetz has opened gas stations after bulldozing a Max and Erma's in Hilliard and Woody's Wing House in Worthington, and plans to demolish another Max and Erma's in Dublin.

The chicken chain has also propelled a new location on open New Albany land and will launch a new restaurant on a vacant Powell site. Concurrently, a local real estate group recently submitted its third proposal for a new Sheetz to be built on an empty Gahanna property. The gas station chain also opened a new location on a previously wooded lot at 4881 Roberts Road on Tuesday.

Learn more about each central Ohio restaurant being razed to build new Chick-fil-A and Sheetz locations below.

Mackenzie River to be bulldozed for Chick-fil-A

A shuttered restaurant that replaced Max and Erma's, the eatery auctioned off its furniture in March ahead of the building's demolition to make room for Chick-fil-A. The grill and pub at 1515 Polaris Parkway closed after eight years in business, according to the eatery's listing. The restaurant launched in 2016 when Montana-based Glacier Restaurant Group purchased all Max and Erma's locations and transformed several into Mackenzie River eateries.

The Polaris Fashion Place location's closure dwindled the Mackenzie Rive concept to four Ohio restaurants, with one in Pickerington at 1281 Hill Road N. and three near Cincinnati.

Max and Erma's to be bulldozed for Sheetz

The convenience store and gas station chain has taken over the former restaurant's site at 7480 Sawmill Road in Dublin, according to a Columbus city permit. Glacier Restaurant Group closed this location and the brand's other Dublin restaurant at 411 Metro Place North in 2020.

Buca di Beppo to be bulldozed for Chick-fil-A

The Italian restaurant at 60 E. Wilson Bridge in Worthington was purchased by the fast food chain in April, Franklin County auditor's office records show. While the restaurant remains open with a shuttering date yet to be announced, the location's closing will dwindle Buca di Beppo to three Ohio eateries: one in downtown Columbus, another in Strongsville and a third near Cincinnati.

Buca di Beppo, which has called the Worthington property home since 2001, is not immediately closing at the site and said in a statement to NBC4 that the restaurant plans to continue operating through at least April 2026, when the eatery's lease expires. 

Plans call for the Buca di Beppo to be bulldozed later in 2026 to clear the site for construction of a 5,000-square-foot Chick-fil-A restaurant with a 2027 opening, a proposal approved by the city of Worthington states.

Woody's Wing House demolished for Sheetz

The site of Woody’s Wing House, a bulldozed restaurant that replaced Champps, is now home to a convenience store and gas station after the property was bought for more than $3 million by Sheetz.

The newly constructed Sheetz opened in May at 161 E. Campus View Boulevard in Worthington, a two-acre site the gas station purchased for $3,750,000 last August before Woody’s permanently shuttered in October. The restaurant building converted from a Champps before it began operating as a wing house in late 2017.

Founded by the owner of J. Liu Restaurant and Bar in Dublin and Worthington, Woody's had expanded to two locations after opening at 1840 Hilliard-Rome Road in 2020, which has also since closed.

Tee Jaye's Country Place demolished for Chick-fil-A

Tee Jaye's Country Place at 4910 N. High St. closed in 2021 to make way for a Chick-fil-A, which opened in April. Construction at this property included preserving the site's 20th-century sign that has received a facelift with Chick-fil-A branding.

Max and Erma's demolished for Sheetz

Max and Erma's at 4279 Cemetery Road in Hilliard was demolished in 2021 after the restaurant had been closed for more than a year, with the site now home to a Sheetz.