(Ryan Brennecke/Bulletin photo)

Owners: Michael Moor and Garrett Wales

Architect: Scott Edwards Architecture and Darren Thomas Architecture and Planning

General Contractor: Kellcon Construction

Details: 2,600-square-foot restaurant with a drive-thru

After months of speculation of what was going up at the Safeway-anchored shopping center on Century Drive, it’s official that the drive-thru will be a new fast-food concept called Life & Time Free Range Fast Food, owned by a 10 Barrel Brewing co-founder.

The restaurant is being funded for an undisclosed sum by Garrett Wales, a co-founder of 10 Barrel, and Michael Moor. It will open in late summer. The company has applied for a full liquor license with the Oregon Liquor Control Commission.

“What it is is an all-encompassing healthy, fast-food restaurant with an organic sustained approach that will change the face of what people see as fast food,” Wales said. “It will make (customers) feel good about their choices, and the concept meshes really well with Bend’s community and recreational spirit.”

Some involved in the project signed nondisclosure agreements, which limited what they could say about the construction and ownership. The property owner is listed as Century Park LLC, and the project was approved in February, according to city of Bend building records.

The location is south of Simpson Avenue between Mt. Washington Drive and Colorado Avenue and is designated as mixed-use urban, which doesn’t allow drive-thrus, according to the city of Bend. The drive-thru will likely be the last one permitted in the Central West Side/Century Drive opportunity area after the city of Bend adopted a new urban growth boundary. The restaurant, which will have dine-in service as well, runs parallel to Century Drive with the restaurant’s main entrances on the south and east sides of the building, according to city planning documents.

A crane has been erected for the past few months because the 10,000-square-foot site is too tight for construction vehicles to move around. It’s a great location for the flagship restaurant, Wales said, because of its proximity to Oregon State University-Cascades, the dorms and a major roundabout.

“We have looked for a long, long time for a location,” Wales said. “We vetted many options. The landlord liked what we brought to the table, and it meshed with his vision of the marketplace.”

The restaurant will employ about 30 to 35 people, he said.

The partners will be involved in the day-to-day operations. Wales would not discuss menu options, sustainability or ingredient sourcing, preferring to issue that information in a statement in a couple of weeks.

— Suzanne Roig, The Bulletin