The Oak Ridge Beer Permit Board on Monday will have a hearing for an Oak Ridge restaurant and bar that reportedly sold beer to a minor in March.
The board agreed last month to have the show cause hearing for Applebee’s Neighborhood Bar and Grill during a meeting that starts at noon Monday. [Read more…]
The New China Palace on Melton Lake Drive has been granted a three-month lease extension on this city-owned waterfront site through Labor Day. The restaurant plans to re-open later this year on Central Avenue.
The New China Palace restaurant has been given a three-month lease extension that will allow it to stay on the Oak Ridge waterfront through Labor Day.
It’s expected to be the last lease extension for New China Palace at the city-owned property at Melton Lake Park. The restaurant received one other three-month extension that started in March and runs through the end of May.
The restaurant plans to re-open later this year at the former Village Restaurant property on Central Avenue.
On Thursday, Oak Ridge Economic Development Consultant Ray Evans said Tony Cappiello, who owns the Central Avenue property, has a final architectural review for the proposed new restaurant today and could submit site plans on Monday. [Read more…]
The New China Palace on Melton Lake Drive has been granted a three-month lease extension, and the restaurant will be open on the city’s waterfront through May. The restaurant plans to re-open on Central Avenue by July.
The New China Palace restaurant will be open on the Oak Ridge waterfront through May, and the new owner plans to open in a new place on Central Avenue by July.
In a letter last June, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson told the restaurant’s former owners Chung-Nan Chou and Fu-Li Chou that the city would not renew the lease when it expired in February.
But the new owner Cheng Ping Ren said the city gave the restaurant a three-month lease extension on the waterfront site on Melton Lake Drive. It expires May 31. [Read more…]
Damaged by smoke in November, the Magic Wok restaurant, which has been closed for several months, has passed all city inspections but still needs one from the county.
Several months after it was damaged by smoke, the Magic Wok restaurant has passed all city inspections, and the diner now needs an inspection from the Anderson County Health Department, Oak Ridge Assistant Fire Chief Josh Waldo said Thursday.
The landmark Oak Ridge diner on Tyler Road passed a fire inspection Thursday morning, Waldo said.
The Magic Wok has been closed since it was damaged by smoke in November after food was left cooking on a stove unattended. Firefighters didn’t see any flames that night, but they found smoke and high temperatures.
Oak Ridge firefighters check for “hot spots” on the roof after responding to a fire alarm at the Magic Wok restaurant on Tyler Road on Thursday night.
The Magic Wok restaurant could be closed a few days after food was left cooking on a stove unattended Thursday night, causing minor damage to the building, mostly smoke damage, Oak Ridge Assistant Fire Chief Josh Waldo said.
The Oak Ridge Fire Department responded to a possible fire call at the popular restaurant on Tyler Road at 10:46 p.m. Thursday. Firefighters didn’t see any flames, but they found smoke and high temperatures.
They used water cannons—fire extinguishers filled with water—to cool the restaurant’s interior. They also checked the roof for hot spots, including by cutting a corner of the roof.
Firefighters stayed at the scene for about two hours and ensured the temperature of building materials dropped below 80 degrees and there was no more smoke, a fire report said.
Waldo said 15 firefighters responded, and no one was injured. Damage was estimated at about $7,000 to property and contents.
Waldo said the Magic Wok, which is owned by Betty and Jim Wong, will be closed for minor repairs and general cleanup, and the restaurant will have to be re-inspected by code enforcement officers and health department inspectors before it can re-open.
Volunteer Excavating of Maryville clears a one-acre lot at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Division Road for a new Zaxby’s chicken restaurant that could open in mid-February.
A Zaxby’s chicken restaurant could open on Oak Ridge Turnpike in February, one of the owners said Friday.
The new 3,500-square-foot store will be on about one acre that used to be a car lot at the corner of Division Road and Oak Ridge Turnpike.
The site has been cleared already, and building construction could start this week, said Chris Andrews of Knoxville, who will co-own the restaurant with Brandon Barrett of Athens, Ga. But the construction schedule will depend upon the weather, Andrews said.
He said Zaxby’s specializes in chicken fingers and chicken wings and is also known for its chicken and buffalo salads. It’s a step above fast food, Andrews said, but the higher-quality food is still served quickly.
It will feature sit-down dining and a drive-through and be open from 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Andrews said.
Zaxby’s restaurants typically have a crew of about 50 workers, and the search for a general manager could start in the next week or so.
Zaxby’s is one of three new completed or proposed chicken restaurants in Oak Ridge. Popeyes recently replaced Wishbones on South Illinois Avenue south of Oak Ridge Turnpike, and a Bojangles’ has been proposed next to the former Dean Stallings Ford on South Illinois Avenue.
A site plan has been approved for Bojangles, but a building permit hasn’t been issued yet, said Monica Austin Carroll, Oak Ridge Community Development division manager.
Zaxby’s will be in a high-traffic area bustling with commercial activity as well as the Methodist Medical Center. Andrews said he expects lunches, in particular, to be busy. The traffic light at Division Road and the Turnpike will help make it easier for cars to get in and out of Zaxby’s, he said.
Andrews said he and Barrett also own two other Zaxby’s stores, one in Lenoir City and another in Maryville. This will be their third in East Tennessee.
He said Zaxby’s, which is based in Athens, Ga., is gaining a foothold in East Tennessee, and Oak Ridge was targeted as “ready for the brand.”
“Oak Ridge is still growing,” Andrews said. “There’s a lot of jobs. It’s still a thriving community.”
He said there are Oak Ridge residents who now drive to Lenoir City and Clinton to eat at Zaxby’s. They won’t have to any more.
Zaxby’s was founded in 1990 and now operates more than 560 stores in 13 states, including Tennessee.
A new, larger Panera Bread will open Sunday morning on South Illinois Avenue, and a new Aubrey’s restaurant will open Monday.
Panera Bread will open its new store Sunday morning, and Aubrey’s restaurant will open Monday, staff members said.
Panera, which already has an Oak Ridge store, is moving into a new, larger restaurant on South Illinois Avenue. The old store is now closed, a staff member said Saturday evening, and the new diner will open at 7 a.m. Sunday.
Aubrey’s is next to the new Panera store and will open at 10:30 a.m. Monday, a staff member said.
The two restaurants are located in a new four-acre shopping center called Woodland Town Center. It’s across from the former Dean Stallings Ford.
Local officials and business leaders celebrate the recent opening of The Market House restaurant in Jackson Square with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday morning.
A new restaurant in Jackson Square emphasizes a “farm-to-table” concept, and the owners use, as often as possible, food and beverage products purchased from local farmers, bakers, and brewers.
“There’s not a meal that we have that doesn’t have a local product in it,” said one of the owners, Bo Shipley.
“We keep it as local as possible, keep it as fresh as we can,” said the other owner, Dan Tremaine.
Shipley and Tremaine opened The Market House restaurant on East Tennessee Avenue in Jackson Square on May 8. Local officials and business leaders celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday.
