Golden Corral hours:
Monday-Thursday: 10:45 a.m. to 9 p.m.Friday: 10:45 a.m. to 10 p.m.Saturday: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.Sunday: 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.(Note: Saturday and Sunday breakfast won’t start until Dec. 17)
Chocolate flows again in the dessert fountain at the Golden Corral in Fort Oglethorpe, since the all-you-can-eat restaurant held the grand opening today for its new building that replaces the one that burned down 11 months ago.
The fire didn't destroy Golden Corral at 760 Battlefield Parkway, it only made the popular restaurant stronger, with a larger building that seats 400 people, up from 275 before, 30 food wells now, up from 20 before, and a building with 11,000 square feet, compared to the previous 8,000 square feet.
"We're a third size bigger in seating. We're a third size bigger in offerings," said Kevin Terrette, who co-owns the restaurant franchise with Don Adkison.
Even the new chocolate fountain is taller than the old one, Terrette said.
Other new features include hand-dipped ice cream with four new flavors, Adkison said, and a smoked meat section called The Smokehouse.
"It's a real, wood-burning smoker," Adkison said. "We're doing barbecue ribs, smoked chicken, brisket."
Golden Corral held a complimentary trial lunch and dinner Wednesday to which it invited Fort Oglethorpe firefighters and police, city officials, employees from nearby businesses, family, friends and longtime customers.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" said Jay Shipp, who came for lunch. "I used to eat here all the time. I just live three blocks from here."
Golden Corral now has roughly 120 employees, Adkison said, about double the pre-fire number. About 40 previous employees returned to work there, he said.
One new employee is Becca Harris, 21, who works in salad prep.
"I love it," Harris said of the new building. "It's so clean and pretty, how could you not?"
The new building cost more than $3 million, Adkison said, and is owned by Gilbert & Stephenson, a group of real estate investors based in LaFayette, Ga., that owns other commercial properties on Battlefield Parkway. Terrette and Adkison signed a 30-year lease for the new building, Adkison said.
The new building has fire sprinklers, Terrette said. The old one didn't.
Golden Corral is a chain that opened its first restaurant in 1973 in Fayetteville, N.C. It's in 40 states, with about 500 restaurants. About 400 Golden Corrals are franchises, and 100 are corporate-owned, Adkison said.
The Fort Oglethorpe Golden Corral was ranked No. 14 in the chain when it burned.
"This is the newest Golden Corral in the world," Adkison said.
Contact staff writer Tim Omarzu at tomarzu@timesfreepress.com or www.facebook.com/MeetsForBusiness or twitter.com/meetforbusiness or 423-757-6651.