MONROE — City residents will have to wait to get their hands on some signature cheese fries from Beef-a-Roo. 

That’s because a plan by the Rockford-based eatery — now in the hands of Next Brands — to open a franchise here, has been experiencing delays. Serious delays, apparently, according to city officials.

“Beef-a-Roo was last in communication with the city during a meeting on September 15th to follow up on a previous meeting and email that detailed what is needed to continue the site plan review process…” said City Administrator Brittney Rindy, in a recent email. “The city has not had any follow up communication from Beef-a-Roo since that meeting…”

Initial attempts to reach Beef-A-Roo representatives for comment on the status of the Monroe location were unsuccessful Monday. The proposed restaurant would be on 8th Street near the existing Dairy Queen restaurant.

The Wisconsin expansion is all a part of a recent bid that had the family founders of the restaurants in Rockford and investors to make Beef-a-Roo into a global “fast-casual” brand.  The place is known for burgers, fries with signature salt, salads, shakes; and of course, beef in an Arby’s style of sandwich.

Last May, the franchise announced plans to open three new restaurants, including one in Monroe and others in Beloit and Janesville and through its new, “modular container location concept.” The company was touting such designs as costing as little as $200,000 to open a new restaurant.

“We are excited about our continued growth and cannot wait to introduce new guests to Beef-a-Roo in Wisconsin,” said Austin Capoferi, president of Next Brands, last May, when the Wisconsin locations were announced. “With the strategic design, the (food) service time is reduced to 3 1/2 to 5 minutes and helps with the processing time of preparing and keeping every ingredient fresh for guests.”

Still, according to the Beef-a-Roo web site, none of the Wisconsin locations have been opened thus far. It is unclear if the location slated for Monroe will include a dining room or just walk up/drive up service.

Rindy said the city hasn’t given up on Beef-a-Roo but needs more information from the company abouts its plans to move forward, especially as it relates to things like traffic patterns.

“The city requested information to understand the traffic flow on and off the property, as well as a possible written request of why the property location makes it challenging to remain compliant with the zoning code for drive-thru windows,” she said.

Beef-a-Roo currently operates 17 locations in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri and Texas.