Get ready all of you Krystal fans. Construction on a new Krystal restaurant has begun in Buckhead Crossing at the corner of Brannen Street and the Veterans Memorial Parkway (otherwise known as the Statesboro Bypass).

            It has been over a year since the Krystal franchise restaurant owned by Jeff Hook closed in Statesboro, and many of you have lamented its demise. Get happy as your beloved, square "bunned", mini morsels of hamburger goodness are about to return.

            "We can't wait to get this Krystal finished," said Tom Ferguson, director of construction and maintenance for the Krystal Company. "This will not be a franchise, but a company owned store."

            Ferguson said the hope is that the new Statesboro Krystal will be a top performer in the Krystal chain of restaurants.

            "We think this store could be a home run in terms of sales volume," he said.

            Interestingly, Ferguson does not expect the university to significantly impact the restaurant's sales numbers.

            "You might be surprised, but demographically speaking, we don't necessarily do that well by just being next to a college," he said. "That totally surprises me in that I would think that being next to a university or college would drive our numbers up. That just doesn't seem to happen."

            Ferguson said this Krystal will be one the last built with the current interior design.

            "We are in the process of developing a new interior type of a look, but we don't have it ready quite yet," he said. "I wish that we did, but we wanted to go ahead and get this restaurant under construction. Regardless, it will be very nice."

            Ferguson said he expects the 2,250 square foot Statesboro Krystal to be completed around the first of December.

            "I hope that our hiatus from Statesboro does not impact our reopening," he said. "We are very excited and hope that people will come back to Krystal. This will be a 24 hour Krystal."

            The first Krystal restaurant was opened in Chattanooga, Tn. in 1932. A wholly owned subsidiary of Port Royal Holdings, Krystal owns 241 restaurants, and its franchisees operate an additional 110 units. Krystal is the second oldest fast-food chain in the country. The oldest appears to be White Castle which opened in 192

            Until next week, I bid you au revoir.

            Got a scoop for Jan? Call her at (912) 489-9463 or e-mail her at jmoore@statesboroherald.net