Freddy’s Frozen Custard seeks to fill old Sheridan’s site at 23rd and Iowa

Pines International, Grace Evangelical also among Lawrence development filings

The days of frozen custard at 23rd and Iowa streets evidently aren’t done yet.

Officials with Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers have filed a site plan with the city’s planning department to open a new restaurant at the site of the former Sheridan’s Frozen Custard, 2030 W. 23rd St.

Sheridan’s closed in late 2009.

The new restaurant, which will be at the northeast corner of 23rd and Iowa, is expected to have a larger food offering and a significantly larger indoor dining area than Sheridan’s, according to the site plan filed with the city.

According to the company’s Web site, the restaurant offers hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches and frozen treats. The restaurant has locations throughout the Midwest, including in Topeka, Manhattan, Wichita, Salina and Hays.

In other restaurant news, signs indicate that Backyard Burgers, 2351 W. 31st, has closed its Lawrence location. Attempts to reach a spokesman at Backyard Burgers corporate office were unsuccessful to determine whether the company has plans to reopen in Lawrence.

Other development filings with the city include:

• Pines International, the manufacturer of nutritional supplements, has filed paperwork that would allow it to expand its manufacturing facility in northern Douglas County.

Planning commissioners at their Jan. 27 meeting will consider a preliminary plat for Pines International to build an 8,000-square-foot addition to its manufacturing facility at 1997 E. 1400 Road.

But Allen Levine, director of sales for Pines, said the company hasn’t decided whether to expand the facility but rather wants to be prepared if such a decision is made.

Levine said the company is looking at options for reorganizing the company’s manufacturing process, but that may not require new space.

One thing that is certain, Levine said, is that Pines’ business has been on the uptick despite the economic downturn.

“The last two years pretty much have been the highest sales in the company’s history,” Levine said.

The company makes a variety of nutritional supplements out of cereal grasses from wheat, barley, rye, oats and others.

Levine said the entire nutritional supplement industry has been doing well during the downturn.

“As the economy goes down, people are worried about losing their health insurance and become much more interested in preventive care,” Levine said.

Another large factor has been the decline in the U.S. dollar, which has been a boon to companies that export their products overseas. Levine said a substantial portion of Pines’ products end up in the Asian and European markets.

Pines employs about 20 people. Levine said any expansion likely would not involve an immediate increase in the company’s work force.

• Grace Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 3312 Calvin Drive, has filled a rezoning request that would allow the church to build a new chapel on its current site. The rezoning would change the property’s zoning from a traditional residential zoning to a mixed-use office designation.

• A rezoning is being sought for a vacant piece of ground at 525 Wakarusa Drive that would allow for a bank to locate on the property. The application does not identify which bank may be interested in the site.