A Chicken Salad Chick restaurant is expected to open soon in Oak Ridge.
The new restaurant is being built where Long John Silver’s used to be on Oak Ridge Turnpike.
The menu at Chicken Salad Chick includes chicken salads, pimento cheese, sandwiches, soups and salads, and more. You can access the restaurant and catering menus here.
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Note: This story was last updated at 10:20 a.m. May 17.
Gas stations in Oak Ridge still had a limited supply this weekend. Some stations had gas but not all types. For example, they might have had regular gasoline, or regular and diesel, or alternatively, no regular.
Most gas stations in Oak Ridge had either no gas to sell or had limited supplies on Wednesday evening.
Oak Ridge Today counted seven stations that had no gas to sell between about 7 and 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Four others appeared to be operating with some limits. Eddie Hair gas station had a $25 purchase limit. The Food City gas station said it had no regular and mid-grade fuel, while Weigel’s on South Illinois Avenue said it had only unleaded gas and diesel. The Shell gas station at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Jefferson had only regular fuel (87 octane).
The Mobil gas station on Oak Ridge Turnpike, across from Food City, appeared to be operating normally.
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Residential lots have been proposed for the upper part of Oak Ridge Summit, the former Pine Ridge above South Illinois Avenue.
The 45-acre site could have 57 single-family lots, as well as open space, on a new street and cul-de-sac with access off Summit Drive on the former ridge, according to the agenda for an Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission meeting on Thursday.
The Tennessee Valley Authority and Kairos Power plan to collaborate on setting up a low-power demonstration reactor at the East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge.
As part of this agreement, TVA said in a press release Thursday that itwill provide engineering, operations, and licensing support to help Kairos Power deploy the reactor, named Hermes.
“Teamwork is the hallmark of the nuclear industry and, through this partnership with Kairos Power, we can share TVA’s safety and innovation insights to advance nuclear technology while gaining experience with licensing for advanced reactors,” said TVA President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Lyash. “Nuclear power is the key to fueling our economy with reliable, affordable, and clean electricity, and it is critical to our national security.”
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The proposed motorsports park will not be built in Oak Ridge, the developer announced Tuesday after learning that an environmental impact statement would be required, and that the study could cost several million dollars and take several years.
Rusty Bittle, developer and founding partner of the Oak Ridge Motorsports Park, said he would try to relocate the proposed project. The name will be changed as well, Bittle said.
“After more than a year of discussions between the City of Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board, and the U.S. Department of Energy, Bittle decided to relocate the project to another East Tennessee community that offers more attractive options for the project,” a press release said.
“An East Tennessee motorsports park is a legacy project for me,” Bittle said in the press release. “The State of Tennessee has a reputation for automotive excellence, we are leading the way on advanced transportation technologies like electric vehicles, lightweight composites, and artificial intelligence. A motorsports park will help the state and host community build an international reputation for next generation transportation technologies and become a tourism destination for automotive enthusiasts.”
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The City of Oak Ridge said it has received a $500,000 contribution from the UT-Battelle Development Corporation to help with the planned airport at Heritage Center, the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge.
The contribution is meant to provide funding that can be used to secure state and/or federal grants that require a local funding match, a city press release said.
Thomas Zacharia, president and chief executive officer of UT-Battelle and director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Jeff Smith, president of UT-Battelle Development Corporation, presented the contribution to Oak Ridge City Council at its March 8 meeting. Smith is also vice chair of the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority.
“I believe the presence of a new airport will be a key differentiator for this community because it supports existing trends so clearly: The airport will make Oak Ridge more attractive to companies and professionals interested in low-cost, high-quality communities with easy access to other cities,” Zacharia said, according to the press release.
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The Which Wich restaurant on Oak Ridge Turnpike closed on Thursday, December 31.
The Which Wich corporate office and Oak Ridge location have not responded to emails asking about the closing this week, and Oak Ridge Today was not able to reach the company and Oak Ridge location by phone on Wednesday and Thursday.
The fifth season of the Winter Farmers’ Market begins indoors Saturday, December 5, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., and it is focused on safety during the COVID-19 pandemic, a press release said.
The market is open Saturdays through March (closed December 26), at St. Mary’s Catholic School at 323 Vermont Avenue in Oak Ridge.
All vendors and customers must wear masks, and vendors are spread apart for social distancing, the press release said.
New this year is a 100 percent touch-free curbside pickup program called Market-to-Go. Customers can shop farmers’ market products online during the week, and pick them up curbside on Saturday mornings, the press release said.
“We have been working all year to get ready for a safe, indoor market. Not many towns our size offer a Winter Farmers’ Market, much less one with more than 30 vendors and a convenient online store,” said Rebecca Williams, director of Grow Oak Ridge, the nonprofit organization that produces the market.
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The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society’s Annual Plant Sale will be online only this year. It is scheduled from September 25 to October 10. You can shop for new plants from home.
The UT Arboretum Society’s plant sales are some of their biggest fundraisers of the year. They help support the arboretum’s community education, trail improvements such as its Nature Book Trail, and children’s programs, a press release said.
The online plant sale will give you a chance to enhance your garden this fall.
“Fall is always a wonderful time for planting as it gives your plants time to establish great root systems for the spring,” the press release said.
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The fourth annual Nine Lakes Wine Festival has been converted to a safer, spread out, open-air “Winemaker’s Market” on Saturday, September 12, a press release said. The festival is scheduled from 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday at Melton Lake Park in Oak Ridge.
“All of our winemakers will be wearing masks, and we ask that the public does, too,” said event director Rebecca Williams. “They will be spread out in the park, with at least 10 feet between vendor tents, and we may have to limit ticket sales to allow for social distancing.”
The event will not offer wine samples to taste this year.
“The state will not allow it, and we agree it would not be a safe thing to do,” Williams said. “Instead, we’re offering a unique shopping event, sort of like a farmer’s market for wine. Tennessee wines are not generally sold in stores, so you really have to come to an event or drive out to a winery to find them.”
Thirteen local wineries will be represented at the event. General admission tickets are $10, and they benefit United Way of Anderson County. They include a wine tote and tasting glass to take home, the press release said.
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The former American Museum of Science and Energy building is being demolished, and apartments are planned on the site.
The apartment project is expected to include seven three-story buildings with 226 apartment units on 10 acres.
Now called Main Street Lofts, the $32 million apartment project has included an agreement to reduce property taxes and the transfer of what had been federal property from the U.S. Department of Energy to the city and then to TN Oak Ridge Illinois, a company affiliated with RealtyLink, the developer of Main Street Oak Ridge.
The apartments are being built as RealtyLink, a South Carolina company, plans to build more new stores across South Tulane Avenue at Main Street Oak Ridge, the redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall.
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