Every few months I like to give our readers a “dirt movement” report.  I can always tell when there is an uptick in development in the county by the increased calls and questions I receive about projects.  I sat down with Frank Neal the Director of Planning & Development for the City of Statesboro to get an overview of a few of the projects coming our way:

Five Below is coming to Statesboro and will be located in a new building beside Ulta in the Statesboro Crossings shopping center. Five Below is an American publicly held chain of discount stores that sells products that cost up to $5. It is one of the fastest growing retailers in the country with more than 630 stores in 32 states. Five Below expects to cut the ribbon on approximately 125 new stores in 2018, which includes the Statesboro location. The closest locations to Statesboro currently is Pooler and Hinesville.

Catering to teens, pre-teens and their parents, Five Below carries an ever-evolving assortment of cell phone cases and chargers, remote control cars, yoga pants, graphic tees, nail polish, footballs and soccer balls, tons of candy and seasonal must-haves for Easter, Halloween, Christmas and more. The stores are a vibrant, colorful and high-energy destination.

Since Chicken Salad Chick had one of the most successful openings in the company’s history, there has been a renewed interest in the Southern Square shopping center even with K-Mart closing.  Two cool new concept restaurants are about to open there:

Loc’s Chicken and Waffles has begun a build out right beside Chicken Salad Chick in Suite 168 on their third restaurant. Loc Lin, the owner of Season’s of Japan created this breakfast restaurant concept in Savannah and has two locations there.  They will be open daily from 6 AM to 3 PM serving salads, sandwiches and any breakfast dish you can imagine.  

This week, Rolling Monkey, handcrafted Ice Cream will begin a build out beside Loc’s in Suite 166 for their first store in Statesboro, which will open this summer. They will offer fresh, made to order ice cream, with no preservatives, emulsifiers, or stabilizers, providing the customer with a quality product and a captivating show. Rolling Monkey is owned and operated by husband and wife duo, Garrett & Meagan Clark. 

There are two projects that have broken ground off Fair Road beside and behind Wild Wing Café.  Directly beside Wild Wing, fronting Fair Road, is Statesboro's newest seafood restaurant The Shuckin' Shack Oyster Bar.  Based out of Carolina Beach, N.C., the seafood restaurant chain began in 2007 and has 10 locations in five states. 

The Statesboro location will be their first restaurant in Georgia. They feature almost exclusively American caught products, including shrimp and oysters on the half shell. Even though their specialty is steamed seafood, their menu also includes fried and grilled options. The restaurant is designed to have a beach shack feel and will include a full bar. They are planning a late summer opening.

Directly behind Wild Wing will be McKeithen True Value Hardware. Thomas McKeithen and his father Tom Mckeithen, who are both Stateboro residents, are opening the new hardware store. The store will be 9,000 square feet, with a large outdoor display area, as well.  Zach Hawk, of Hawk Construction, is the general contractor. They hope to be open by mid-August.

Waffle House finally began construction of the much anticipated third Waffle House in Statesboro. It is being built at 30 Eddie Rushing Drive, beside the former Fuzzy’s Taco building off the bypass near Millhouse Steakhouse. They hope to have it open this summer.

East Georgia Oral and Facial Surgery began building their new office and surgery center at 1222 Brampton Avenue near Bites and Baldinos Restaurants.

Many of you, including me, had given up hope on Checkers reopening in Statesboro. Today will mark the one year anniversary of them closing the Statesboro store. Their lease was non-renewed so two new stores could be built on the land where the restaurant was located. We have learned that they are in the final stages of site selection and hopefully we can announce their reentry to Statesboro soon.

Northland Cable TV has received approval to demolish their current office building and rebuild with a new, state of the art office. They will relocate soon, temporarily to North Main Street, near Farmers and Merchants Bank, so demolition and construction can begin.

The owners of the old church and home located at the corner of Savannah Avenue and Zetterower Avenue are planning to demolish those two buildings in order to better market the property to a potential buyer. There are no immediate plans for that site.

Also, Neal shared with me that there are many more exciting projects in the works for Statesboro. It looks like 2018 may be a banner year for new business entry into our market.  Keep reading and I will keep you updated on all the exciting projects coming.