Several including Chili’s Bar & Grill, Hallmark, Haverty’s, Jared the Galleria of Jewelers, Old Navy, Newk’s Express Café and Which Wich? are planning to open by late summer or early fall at the lifestyle mall, said general manager Angie Carter.
Chili’s Bar & Grill has scheduled the opening of its second Murfreesboro restaurant for July 24, said company spokesperson Maureen Locus.
The new Old Navy store at The Avenue is slated to open Aug. 28, said company spokesperson Jenny Heisler.
The first Newk’s Express Café in the Middle Tennessee area is expected to open by mid-September, said franchise owner Phillip O’Reilly.
After working at an Oxford, Miss. store location for more than three years, O’Reilly decided to buy the franchise rights for Newk’s in the Middle Tennessee market.
O’Reilly and his family moved to Murfreesboro in February to open the first restaurant.
“It is a great fit,” he said. “It is the fast-casual market — the fastest growing segment of the restaurant industry. It fits a lot of different lifestyles. It is not overly expensive.”
Besides, O’Reilly loves the food.
“It is fresh,” he said. “It is fast.”
Newk’s fresh and made-to-order menu includes salads, toasted sandwiches, pizza, soup and dessert.
Some of Newk’s most popular items include the Newk “Q” toasted sandwich with the restaurant’s own white barbecue sauce, grilled chicken breast, Applewood smoked bacon and Swiss cheese; the Newk’s Favorite salad with mixed greens, grilled chicken breast, gorgonzola cheese, dried cranberries, grapes, artichoke hearts, pecans and croutons tossed with Newk’s sherry vinaigrette; and Margerita pizza with roma tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, tomato basil sauce and fresh basil.
O’Reilly said The Avenue was the perfect location for the first Newk’s.
“When you are starting something you need to go where you are going to get the foot traffic,” he said, “and The Avenue is a great opportunity for that.”
O’Reilly said he has no immediate plans to open a second Newk’s location.
“We are looking in the Cool Springs, Brentwood and Franklin area,” he said. “We have a lot of options. We want to get the first one open and let people see what it is all about.”
The Hallmark Gold Crown store, which is relocating from the Stones River Mall, has an opening date of Aug. 25, said company spokesperson Molly Gregory. The Stones River Mall location is expected to close around Aug. 15.
“The profitability wasn’t where we needed it to be,” she said of the Stones River location.
Which Wich? Superior Sandwiches, where all of the sandwiches are the same price, is tentatively planning a Sept. 1 opening at The Avenue, said company spokesperson Whitt Webb.
Erin Edgemon can be reached at 869-0812 and at eedgemon@murfreesboropost
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