Oak Ridge Today

Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers open, more businesses planned

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Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers was open, as pictured above on Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018, at South Illinois and South Tulane avenues as part of Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers was open, as pictured above on Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018, at South Illinois and South Tulane avenues as part of Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers is open at South Illinois and South Tulane avenues, and more businesses are planned at Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall.

So far, Main Street Oak Ridge features a dozen new businesses—including retail stores, a restaurant, and a hotel—and the relocated American Museum of Science and Energy near JCPenney, an anchor store at the northeast side of the mall.

Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, which opened Tuesday in a building that will include another business, was busy Tuesday afternoon, with a parking lot that was mostly full, a drive-through line that wrapped around two sides of the building, and a customer line that stretched from the counter inside to the door. The restaurant has been getting good reviews online.

Plans for the new restaurant were announced in May 2017, and construction was under way at the 1.4-acre site, which is next to the rebuilt Taco Bell restaurant on South Illinois Avenue, in January. [Read more…]

Mattress Firm open on South Illinois

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The new Mattress Firm store is pictured above on South Illinois Avenue on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The new Mattress Firm store is pictured above on South Illinois Avenue on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A Mattress Firm store is now open on South Illinois Avenue.

The store is near Panda Express, a relatively new restaurant that is, like, Mattress Firm, on property that was once home to a Ruby Tuesday restaurant near Walmart, Rutgers Avenue, and Main Street Oak Ridge.

On its website, Mattress Firm says it has more than 3,500 company-operated and franchised stores across 49 states and the largest geographic footprint in the United States among multi-brand mattress retailers. The company was founded in 1986, and it is based in Houston. [Read more…]

Two new stores at Main Street Oak Ridge

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Pictured above on Friday, Jan. 5, 2018, are two new businesses at Main Street Oak Ridge: World Finance Loans & Taxes and The Spa Lounge Lash & Nail Studio. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Pictured above on Friday, Jan. 5, 2018, are two new businesses at Main Street Oak Ridge: World Finance Loans & Taxes and The Spa Lounge Lash & Nail Studio. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

There are two more new businesses at Main Street Oak Ridge.

There are now a total of 11 new stores, restaurants, and businesses that have been announced and are either open or under construction at Main Street Oak Ridge, which is being developed by RealtyLink of South Carolina.

One of the new businesses, World Finance Loans & Taxes, was open earlier this month. The second, The Spa Lounge Lash & Nail Studio, didn’t appear to be complete as of January 5, although it’s not clear if that has changed.

Main Street Oak Ridge is the 58-acre project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall as a mixed-use development that could also include retailers, restaurants, and residential units. [Read more…]

Construction starts at Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

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Construction has started on a building that will include Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers on a corner lot at South Illinois Avenue and South Tulane Avenue, between Taco Bell and Golden Oak Buffet. Here are a few photos from the work site on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Construction has started on a building that will include Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers on a corner lot at South Illinois Avenue and South Tulane Avenue, between Taco Bell and Golden Oak Buffet. Here are a few photos from the work site on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Construction has started on a building that will include Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers on a corner lot at South Illinois Avenue and South Tulane Avenue, between Taco Bell and Golden Oak Buffet.

The restaurant has signed a lease in a building that will be about 9,000 square feet, said Neil Wilson of RealtyLink, the South Carolina company redeveloping the former 58-acre Oak Ridge Mall as Main Street Oak Ridge.

Freddy’s has previously said it could open in Oak Ridge this year.

During an Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce event in November, Wilson said the corner lot, which was once a detention pond, is one of the best commercial property corners in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Photos: Construction under way at TownePlace Suites

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Construction is pictured above on the TownePlace Suites by Marriott, a four-story, 81-room hotel on 2.6 acres near the intersection of Wilson Street and Rutgers Avenue, close to JCPenney, on Friday, Jan. 5, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Construction is pictured above on the TownePlace Suites by Marriott, a four-story, 81-room hotel on 2.6 acres near the intersection of Wilson Street and Rutgers Avenue, close to JCPenney, on Friday, Jan. 5, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Construction work is under way at TownePlace Suites by Marriott, a four-story, 81-room hotel on 2.6 acres near the intersection of Wilson Street and Rutgers Avenue, close to JCPenney. Here are photos of the construction work this month.

Oak Ridge Today last reported on the hotel in August 2016, after the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission unanimously approved an amended site plan for the hotel.

The TownePlace Suites will be owned by Chander Bhateja, who is also the developer and franchisee. Bhateja, an Oak Ridge resident, owns three hotels in Knoxville and others in the Southeast, Oak Ridge Today reported at the time.

TownePlace Suites is at Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall as a mixed-use development that could also include retailers, restaurants, and residential units. The hotel property, which is separate from the property being leased by RealtyLink, the South Carolina-based developer of Main Street Oak Ridge, is owned by Series C of NP Road Partners LLC of Oak Ridge, according to state records, and Bhateja is the registered agent of NP Road Partners LLC. [Read more…]

Construction could start next week on Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

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A Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers could open in Oak Ridge next year at the intersection of South Illinois Avenue and South Tulane Avenue, the company said Thursday, May 25, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers could open in Oak Ridge next year at the intersection of South Illinois Avenue and South Tulane Avenue, the company said Thursday, May 25, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Construction could start next week on a building that will include Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, a development executive said Tuesday.

Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers will be located on a corner lot at South Illinois Avenue and South Tulane Avenue, between Taco Bell and Golden Oak Buffet.

The restaurant has signed a lease in a building that will be about 9,000 square feet, said Neil Wilson of RealtyLink, the company redeveloping the former 58-acre Oak Ridge Mall as Main Street Oak Ridge.

The company has previously said it could open in Oak Ridge next year. [Read more…]

Rezoning map shows possible grocery, retail stores south of AMSE

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A rezoning map for an Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017, shows that a grocery or large retail store could be built on the 7.4 acres south of American Museum of Science and Energy. The map also shows three smaller retailers or restaurants are possible. AMSE is to the north of the proposed grocery or large retail building.

A rezoning map for an Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017, shows that a grocery or large retail store could be built on the 7.4 acres south of American Museum of Science and Energy. The map also shows three smaller retailers or restaurants are possible. AMSE is to the north of the proposed grocery or large retail building.

 

A rezoning map shows a grocery or large retail store could be built on the property south of American Museum of Science and Energy.

The rezoning map shows the grocery or retailer could be 55,000 square feet, set back from South Illinois Avenue and next to Badger Avenue. But no prospective tenant has been publicly announced yet.

Also shown on the rezoning map, which was filed for an Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission meeting in October, are three smaller possible retail or restaurant buildings of about 4,000 to 7,000 square feet.

The rezoning was requested by TN Oak Ridge Illinois LLC for the 7.4 acres south of AMSE along South Illinois Avenue between South Tulane Avenue and Badger Avenue. That property was once part of the AMSE property and owned by the U.S. Department of Energy, but it has since been transferred to the City of Oak Ridge and then to TN Oak Ridge Illinois LLC.

The rezoning was approved, with a few contingencies, by the Planning Commission on October 19, and it’s been referred to the Oak Ridge City Council, presumably for the Monday, November 13 meeting. [Read more…]

Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers could open in Oak Ridge early next year

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A Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers could open in Oak Ridge early next year at the intersection of South Illinois Avenue and South Tulane Avenue, the company said Thursday, May 25, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers could open in Oak Ridge early next year at the intersection of South Illinois Avenue and South Tulane Avenue, the company said Thursday, May 25, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers could open in Oak Ridge early next year, the company said Thursday.

“We are currently working on securing a space in a multi-tenant building on the northeast corner of Tulane and Illinois, in front of Wal-Mart,” said Bob Rasberry, area franchise owner. “We hope to open early next year.”

It would be part of Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall.

The Freddy’s restaurant would be on a redeveloped parcel at the busy intersection of South Illinois Avenue and South Tulane Avenue, near Taco Bell, which is being rebuilt, and the Golden Oak restaurant.

It would be within walking distance of eight new stores expected to open soon at Main Street Oak Ridge: Dick’s Sporting Goods, Electronic Express, Maurice’s, PetSmart, Rack Room Shoes, Rue 21, T.J. Maxx, and Ulta. It would be down the street from another new restaurant on South Illinois Avenue, Panda Express. [Read more…]