Wayback Burgers plans to open second Massachusetts restaurant in Westborough

WESTBOROUGH — The owner of the Wayback Burgers franchise in Worcester plans to open a second Massachusetts location at the Bay State Commons plaza in downtown Westborough by next spring.

Wayback specializes in classic burgers and new spins on old favorites, such as the limited edition Oktoberfest burger, with onion rings, German mustard and cheese sauce on a pretzel bun. Wayback also offers other common comfort food like hot dogs, fried chicken and flavored shakes.

“We do it the old-fashioned way — hand-scooped, on a spindle, with some great flavoring," said franchise owner Dario DiPietrantonio. "People drive a long way for our shakes."

Wayback Burgers was founded in Delaware in 1991; it's now based in Cheshire, Connecticut. It has more than 150 locations, including 18 outside the United States and Canada. But DiPietrantonio's Worcester location, at 11 Tobias Boland Way, is so far the only one in Massachusetts.

Although the pandemic proved to be a challenge, DiPietrantonio said his franchise was lucky because customers shifted to prefer delivery and takeout. He said that allowed for the expansion of his delivery business.

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“We actually were thriving during the pandemic,” he said. “Financially, I thought it was the best time to make the next step.”

DiPietrantonio, who has been affiliated with Wayback Burgers for nearly a decade, said he wasn’t necessarily looking to expand to Westborough — Marlborough and Framingham were also contenders. But during a recent trip to Westborough, he noticed the vacant storefront that will soon house the 1,600-square-foot Wayback Burgers franchise.

The location is one that DiPietrantonio knows well — several years ago, he helped open the Panera Bread in the same plaza.

There have been, of course, challenges. For the last two years, he said the Worcester location hasn't had Wayback Burgers-branded logo bags because the glue to attach the logo was in short supply. And the rising prices that people have seen at grocery stores is affecting his business, too.

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DiPietrantonio is hoping to hire about 30 people for the new Westborough location. He admitted to having some trouble getting enough staff over the past year.

“Knock on wood, we seem to be doing OK here, now," he said. "We’ve got some really good people and hopefully we can do the same thing when we get to Westborough. We’ll have some good jobs available and hopefully we get some people who need to work and come and join our Wayback family and help us be a successful new business in the Westborough market.”

The new restaurant is currently in the drawing stages. Architects are drawing up a plan, and when they’re done, plans will be submitted to the landlord and the town. Once they're approved, Wayback Burgers can move to apply for permits. DiPietrantonio said he’s hoping to open early next year. The location will have an open plan kitchen, so customers can see their food being made in real time.

“Once we get our permits, we have about four months to get it built,” he said. “If we can get the permits in hopefully before the end of the year, then we’re looking around sometime in April.”

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Wayback Burgers franchise owner plans new restaurant in Westborough