Top Stories - East County: September

EAST COUNTY — The area’s newest drive-thru restaurant at the northwest corner of Lena Road and Interstate 75 and State Road 70, just east of Interstate 75, opens Sunday.

Tampa-based The Sinclair Group constructed the PDQ (People Dedicated to Quality) restaurant. The chain is known for its fresh chicken tenders, sandwiches and salads and homemade sauces and dressings. It also offers fresh-cut French fries, hand-spun milkshakes and fresh-squeezed lemonade.

Patrons will have the options to dine in, carry out or use the drive-thru. PDQ also offers catering services.
PDQ has 22 locations in five states, including 12 in Florida. It opened a restaurant in September on Tamiami Trail, in Sarasota. “In all of our locations, the community is important,” said Jeff Kamis, chief marking and public relations officer for PDQ, in June. “That area is a great community for families, but it’s also very much expanding from the business side as well. It’s exciting to see that development.”

Kamis said PDQ likes to get involved in the community through company initiatives, such as spirit and family nights, through which causes or organizations can raise donations, among others. Outback Steakhouse co-founder Bob Basham and Nick Reader, CEO of Basham’s private investment firm MVP Holdings, purchased the PDQ site in July.

PDQ has 10 locations open in the Tampa Bay market and plans to have three more open by the end of the year. MVP Restaurant Partners, run by former Basham and Nick Reader, former chief financial officer of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, created the restaurant concept. The company has 31 locations open in six states, including 19 locations in Florida.