Sardi’s Peruvian Chicken will open an Annapolis location in 2026 in the 100 block of Defense Highway in a former Wendy’s restaurant.

Phil E. Sardelis said the Prince George’s County-based business recently closed a deal to purchase the property, but that it must wait to open until the Wendy’s property lease ends in 2026.

“We had an architect in there already. We’re going to do the design, we’re going to go get permits, and then we’ll probably have a discussion with Wendy’s about an early out,” he said.

Wendy’s did not return a request for comment.

Sardelis said he launched the restaurant chain in 2008 with his cousin Phil G. Sardelis, who died from COVID-19 in 2021. Before 2001, Sardelis operated Sardi’s Cafe, a carry-out-only establishment in Washington, D.C., selling breakfast and lunch.

Sardelis’ father also owned a restaurant, which the son took over in the 1990s. He planned to expand the restaurant’s capacity but that never happened, and he closed the business in 2001.

After the restaurant closed, Sardelis refocused his energy on Sardi’s Catering, a business that he had started during his oversight of his father’s restaurant. Around 2005, Peruvian chicken was added to the menu. During this time, Sardelis grew the business’ clientele and decided it was time to expand, leading to the 2008 opening of the first Sardi’s restaurant in Beltsville.

“It did so well, I told my cousin that we have a strong clientele, and if we could do a business plus catering, we could make a living,” he said.

The restaurant serves dishes such as charbroiled Peruvian chicken, grilled meat and seafood, as well as other Latin food, such as quesadillas, empanadas and pupusas. They also offer sandwiches like gyros.

Now they have 16 locations in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Including the planned Annapolis location, “ 14 of those restaurants are in Maryland in places such as Glen Burnie, Olney, Frederick, Laurel, Bowie, Gaithersburg, Capitol Heights and Hagerstown.

While Annapolis may need to wait two years before the restaurant opens, Sardelis already has a vision of how he will turn the drive-thru into a traditional restaurant.

“We’re not going to have drive-thru now because [of] our menu,” he said. “Other than chicken, everything else is cooked to order; you cannot do that type of service in a drive-thru thru and we won’t. … We’ve never been willing to compromise freshness and quality in order to create a drive-thru.”

Sardelis said he plans to change the restaurant’s interior and transform the drive-thru space into more seating.