Columbus is getting a Cracker Barrel.
Teresa Miller, a corporate communications specialist with the Tennessee-based chain, has confirmed that the restaurant “has plans to join the Columbus business community.”
The plan is to open in the fall but an “actual open date is contingent on construction progress,” according to a statement Miller sent The Dispatch on Wednesday.
Tony Tate, a local Realtor with Swoope Real Estate who was part of negotiations, said a deal is in place for the restaurant to be built on a 2.5 acre lot near the intersection of 18th Avenue North and Sixth Street North, across from Logan’s Roadhouse.
“I’m elated,” Mayor Robert Smith said. “I’m quite certain the citizens of Columbus are happy, as well and not just them, but all the people of the Golden Triangle.”
Cracker Barrel, a rustic-themed restaurant and gift shop, is “known for providing a friendly home away from home atmosphere,” according to its corporate website. The first Cracker Barrel Old Country Store opened in Lebanon, Tennessee, in 1969. There are more than 590 across the U.S. today.
One of the latest Cracker Barrels to open was in Corinth, which opened in early June, according to the corporate website.
Smith said the restaurant will be another asset for retail development in the city. In the past 12 months, a Buffalo Wild Wings, Lost Pizza Company and Jack’s have each opened along the Highway 45 North corridor in Columbus.
Miller said when a Cracker Barrel opens a new store it creates approximately 200 jobs.
William Browning was managing editor for The Dispatch until June 2016.
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