Appleby and Dundas Restaurants in Burlington: What's Changing

What has it been like getting into the Appleby Line and Dundas Street plazas lately? Halton Region's widening has kept Dundas at two lanes in each direction, with reduced speed limits and electronic signs posting travel times along the corridor. Over the same period the restaurants changed too. A 13-year tenant left, a national chicken chain left, and two American brands either opened or claimed the empty spaces.

The road and the restaurants are on the same clock, and both are about halfway through. The next stretch of Dundas due for rebuilding runs east of Appleby Line, the side closest to Millcroft.

The year the corner changed tenants

It's easy to lose track of how much has changed since spring, so here it is in order:

• Kelseys, 4511 Dundas St. closed in March after more than 13 years at the corner. BurlingtonToday reported the closure on March 17, 2026.
• Jersey Mike's, 3121 Appleby Line opened on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, according to BurlingtonToday's opening-week report. InsideHalton placed it in an Embee Properties plaza, in a space Oven 360 used to fill.
• Shake Shack named 4511 Dundas St., the former Kelseys, as one of its new Ontario locations in an August 17, 2026 announcement that also listed 275 Hays Blvd. in Oakville. Both are planned to open in 2026.
• KFC at Appleby Line and Dundas Street had closed for good by the time BurlingtonToday reported it on September 28, 2026.

None of this happened in a quiet market. Chipotle opened at 2500 Appleby Line on October 23, 2025, almost two months after the end-of-August opening its earlier announcement had forecast. BurlingtonToday covered the line on opening day. Dave's Hot Chicken, at the same 2500 Appleby Line address, opened in September 2023, and Halton's first Chick-fil-A opened on Appleby Line in October 2024.

The new arrivals came from across the border

The tenants that left were long-standing Canadian standbys. The ones arriving are American brands that are new to Halton or still small in Canada. When BurlingtonToday covered the Shake Shack announcement, it described the chain as joining "several businesses from over the border in making north Burlington their new home," and named Chick-fil-A and Jersey Mike's as earlier examples.

Shake Shack is a good measure of how new these brands are here. Per the same BurlingtonToday report, the chain had nine Canadian locations at the time of the announcement, one in Calgary and the rest in or around Toronto. Burlington was one of three new Ontario sites, along with Oakville and London. Billy Richmond, business director of Shake Shack Canada, said in the company's release:

"Oakville, Burlington and London represent exciting milestones in our Canadian growth journey, and we look forward to welcoming new guests and creating memorable Shack experiences in each city."

When BurlingtonToday reported the plan in August, it said the opening day was not yet clear. With about two months left in 2026, the old Kelseys building is the corner's biggest open question.

Burgers are already crowded here. BurlingtonToday listed Rosie's Burgers, Rudy's, Wendy's and Burger King as the burger restaurants Shake Shack will compete with at this intersection. Chicken is going the other way. BurlingtonToday called Appleby and Dundas the city's "busy chicken restaurant strip." KFC's exit was the second chicken closure in Burlington this year, after Coop Wicked Chicken on Brant Street planned its last service for August 22. On the north side, Chick-fil-A and Dave's Hot Chicken are still open. The chicken chain that left was the one that had been here longest.

The road the new lineup was betting on

These openings and closures all happened while Dundas Street was being rebuilt in front of them. Halton Region's Dundas Street Improvements project widens the corridor from four lanes to six. It also adds new multi-use paths and sidewalks, on-road bike lanes, new bus stops and shelters, new traffic signals and street lights, and upgraded stormwater infrastructure. The signals connect to the Region's Advanced Traffic Management System, which adjusts signal timing in real time.

The final step on the stretch west of Appleby is pavement markings. Halton said Dundas would stay at two lanes each way until that work was done, and expected the restrictions to lift by Friday, October 30, 2026. The Region also said the work depends on the weather and that any change would be posted on electronic road signs and the project page. If the forecast held, the Kelseys site, the Jersey Mike's plaza and the chicken strip now face a Dundas with no lane restrictions.

West of the plazas, Phase 1 also includes the widened Tansley Bridge over Bronte Creek. Halton's renderings show lookout points, bike lanes and multi-use paths with barriers. BurlingtonToday reported in 2023 that the existing south Tansley Bridge was to be demolished and rebuilt as part of the work. Halton and Conservation Halton are also restoring the creek's banks and valley wall north of Dundas with native plants, to stabilize the slope and improve habitat for the Silver Shiner.

Why the cones are coming back

The lane markings finish Phase 1 work on the stretch west of Appleby. They don't finish the project. Halton's project page still gives 2030 as the overall end date, and the rest of the schedule moves toward Millcroft's side of the intersection:

1. Phase 1, Appleby Line to Tremaine Road. Construction started in spring 2021.
2. Phase 1, Tremaine Road to Bronte Road. Construction started in fall 2024.
3. Phase 3, Guelph Line to east of Kerns Road. Construction is expected to start in late 2026.
4. Phase 2, Appleby Line to Northampton Boulevard, and Northampton Boulevard to Guelph Line. Construction is expected to start in early 2028.

The list runs by start date, not phase number, because that's the order a driver will meet the work. Phase 3 begins first, at the far east end of the Burlington corridor near Kerns Road. Phase 2 comes later and covers the gap between them. That includes the stretch heading east from the plazas toward Northampton Boulevard, the side of the intersection closest to Millcroft.

So the open road at Appleby and Dundas is a break of roughly a year and a bit before construction returns to the east side of the same corner, on Halton's current schedule. All of these dates are forecasts on the project page and can change.

What the corner looks like heading into 2027

For anyone in Millcroft or Alton Village who uses this intersection for weeknight takeout, the next year has a clear shape. Jersey Mike's and Chipotle are open, Shake Shack has been announced for the old Kelseys building, and the road west of Appleby looks the way it will for years to come. East of Appleby, Dundas is still the four-lane road it has always been. Once Phase 2 is finished, both sides of the intersection should share the same six-lane layout, with bike lanes and multi-use paths. Under the posted schedule, Phase 2 work starts in early 2028, and Halton gives 2030 as the end date for the whole project.

Until then, the quickest guide to what's changed is the list above. Jersey Mike's is at 3121 Appleby Line. Chipotle and Dave's Hot Chicken share 2500 Appleby Line. Chick-fil-A is still on the chicken strip. Shake Shack's 4511 Dundas St. location was announced in August with a 2026 opening planned.

Our team keeps track of how changes like a six-lane Dundas and a new run of national tenants affect daily life, and value, in the streets around Appleby and Dundas. If you'd like to know how your Millcroft home compares now that the corner has changed, Amy Bray and Alexandria Wood would be glad to prepare a Private Home Valuation for you.