Staff file photo A neon sign marks Nikki’s Drive Inn on Cherokee Boulevard on Chattanooga’s growing North Shore.A Chattanooga developer is looking at building a 52-unit condominium complex on a tract that currently holds longtime eatery Nikki’s Drive-Inn.
Fletcher Bright Co. has submitted plans to a city zoning panel for variances to construct a four-story building at Cherokee Boulevard and West Bell Avenue, just before the Stringer’s Ridge Tunnel.
It’s unclear whether the owner of the popular restaurant, which is a 79-year-old fixture on Chattanooga’s North Shore known for its jumbo fried shrimp and onion rings, will relocate to another site or close.
“We and him have been working together quite some time on this,” said Cardon Smith, a Fletcher Smith Co. vice president.
James E. Jones, the restaurant owner, could not be reached for comment. But earlier this year, he told online channel ChattWithUs that the views from the 1-acre parcel are “phenomenal.”