Marco's Pizza enters Red Bank: Owner wants to tap downtown Chattanooga, north of the river

Staff photo by Mike Pare / Suhash Patel, center, of K3A Construction talks with Freddy Hernandez inside space that is becoming a Marco's Pizza restaurant on Dayton Boulevard
Staff photo by Mike Pare / Suhash Patel, center, of K3A Construction talks with Freddy Hernandez inside space that is becoming a Marco's Pizza restaurant on Dayton Boulevard

A Marco's Pizza is moving into Red Bank with the new eatery slated to open late this summer as the owner looks to tap into downtown Chattanooga and the area just north of the Tennessee River.

Zach Sanders, a Marco's franchisee who already owns a location in Ooltewah, said he wanted to go after the dine-in, carry-out, delivery and catering business in and near downtown.

"They're putting in a lot of new condos and apartments," he said. "It's the next great location to service that side of Chattanooga and the river."

Work has already begun at the 2009 Dayton Boulevard site in an existing building near a McDonald's restaurant.

Sanders said while there's uncertainty about expanding due to the coronavirus, pizza sales are up about 30% nationally since the outbreak.

"We're built for delivery and carry-out," he said.

Hiring new restaurant staff of about 20 to 25 people could be a challenge, Sanders said. He cited the existing market where some low-wage earners may be reluctant to give up generous unemployment benefits.

"It's something we'll have to work hard at and hope we can hire enough people in a small amount of time to start rocking and rolling," the restaurant owner said.

Sanders said plans are to open in late August or September, and the new restaurant has an investment of between $400,000 to $450,000. The eatery will seat from 24 to 30 patrons, he said.

But Sanders said pizza restaurants are going away from full-service, dine-in eateries and more to carry-out and delivery. At his Ooltewah restaurant, dine-in is only about 6% to 8% of business. The Marco's franchisee said about 60% of business is delivery.

If a patron does dine in, it's more fast casual, he said. "You come up, place your order, we give you a number and bring it to your table."

Plans are to push the Red Bank store's catering business as well to schools in the area, Sanders said.

Downtown and the area around the central city has seen a surge of new rooftops over the past several years. An array of apartments and condominiums have gone up on the North Shore, and more are under construction and planned. The growth has started to radiate out into Red Bank and Mountain Creek Road.

Just last month, the Fletcher Bright Co. won approval for a 10-unit townhouse complex on Cherokee Boulevard just before the Stringer's Ridge tunnel.

"They'll have excellent views," said Fletcher Bright Co. Vice President Cardon Smith.

Not far away, just off Cherokee Boulevard, the company has started work on another project to build 26 condos.

Last year, a 190-unit apartment building, 5 Points Northshore, opened at Cherokee and Manning Street.

Sanders, a Carson-Newman University graduate, grew up in Ooltewah and then entered the moving business with United Van Lines. After he got married, he decided to look at something that would keep him in the city and he and a partner, longtime friend Mark Shavers, decided to open the Marco's in Ooltewah about four years ago, he said.

"I did research and I knew I could succeed in Ooltewah," Sanders said. "I knew this side of town and that there was not much in terms of pizza options."

For the past couple of years, his restaurant has been in the top 5% to 10% of all Marco's for sales, he said.

"There was a huge learning curve when I first opened up," he said. "We're doing very well."

Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.

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