It was a quiet Wednesday morning at the new Wendy’s.

The restaurant was empty. The only audible noise was the hiss of the fryer as an employee dropped an order of fries into the sizzling grease.

Even in a college town, not many people are out ordering burgers at 10 a.m.

At the recently relocated Wendy’s, 528 S. Duff Ave., a slow morning doesn’t mean business isn’t good.

“Business has increased, almost doubled [since the new store opened],” said Wendy’s Manager Kirk Capman. “It’s been amazing.”

Before the new store opened, the relocated Wendy’s was located on the east end of Lincoln Way and, with the constant traffic, customers were having trouble getting in and out of the drive-through.

“Our owners and Wendy’s Corporate looked at five different locations, and this one seemed the best because of the amount of people that drive by,” Capman said of the new South Duff Avenue location. “Also, there’s a turning lane on this street,” so people are able to get in and out, he said.

Wendy’s isn’t the only fast food restaurant in Ames that has relocated in recent months. McDonald’s, 129 S. Duff Ave., recently made a move, building a new store directly next to where the old one stood.

This forced Taco John’s, which used to do business on that same McDonald’s property, to move to a new location.

Taco John’s ended up relocating to the intersection of Clark Avenue and Lincoln Way, directly across the street from Taco Time.

Even though there was already a Mexican restaurant at the intersection, Taco John’s Corporate jumped at the chance to build at the location, where traffic is constant throughout the day.

“Taco Time doesn’t affect us at all,” said Taco John’s Manager Jeff Sweeney. “Before, the Ames store was pretty much in the middle [for sales], but [since relocation], it’s moved up to the top.”

Sweeney said Taco John’s has a loyal clientele, and since opening the new store, he’s only seen that clientele increase.

“The old store was a pretty beat-up store,” he said. “It originally started in a trailer. Everything about this store is better.”

The managers of each of those fast food restaurants said it was simply time to build something new. They needed a more modern version of what they already had.

McDonald’s employees had served more than their fair share of burgers out of the old location.

“The store was 31 years old,” said McDonald’s Manager Misty Miller.

The new store, directly to the south of where the old one stood, has been updated, and the drive-through has been rerouted.

Wendy’s employees are enjoying similar improvements.

“We now have two drive-through windows, and we use headsets instead of speakers,” Capman said. “We have all new computers, and we’re switched to Coke products [instead of Pepsi].”

For the most part, the new technology has made the jobs of fast food employees just a little bit easier, although Taco John’s has faced one change that not all the employees are excited about.

They’re extending their hours and calling on their employees to pick up extra shifts.

“We’re open until 1 a.m. on weekdays and until 2:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, at least through the summer,” Sweeney said.

He said he hopes in a college town the extended hours will add to the already increasing amount of business Taco John’s is doing.

While all three of the relocated restaurants have all seen an increase in business, only Taco John’s has attempted to entice the late-night crowd to its new location.