Jack's to open 8th Chattanooga area restaurant

Staff photo by Mike Pare / Construction workers begin building a new Jack's restaurant on Lee Highway. The fast-food eatery is to open by late January, an official said.
Staff photo by Mike Pare / Construction workers begin building a new Jack's restaurant on Lee Highway. The fast-food eatery is to open by late January, an official said.

Jack's Family Restaurants is opening a new eatery at a high-profile Chattanooga intersection as the Alabama-based fast food chain continues an aggressive build-up in the market.

The Lee Pointe commercial center at Highway 153 and Lee Highway will hold the latest Jack's restaurant locally. Work has already begun on the $675,000 project, according to builder Venture Construction.

Jeff Gaston, a Venture project manager, said the Lee Highway Jack's is slated to open by the end of January.

The fast food chain said earlier that it has plans for eight to 10 locations in the Chattanooga area. The Lee Highway unit will be the group's eighth in the market.

"They're big in Alabama and moving into Chattanooga and Memphis, and a little bit in Georgia," Gaston said about the Birmingham-based restaurant company.

Lee Pointe also holds Venue Church, Miller-Motte College and the International Congress of Churches & Ministers among other entities.

Russell Elliott of Pointe Commercial Real Estate said Jack's purchased an outparcel at the center earlier this year.

"I think it's an excellent location for one," he said. "We've always marketed to that type of user. It's extremely convenient and geographically centered."

About Jack's

* What: Fast-food chain* Headquarters: Birmingham, Ala.* Menu: Burgers, chicken, biscuits, shakes* Restaurants: About 170 locations* States: Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, MississippiSource: Jack's Family Restaurants

Venture Construction of Norcross, Georgia, is also finishing up a Jack's restaurant in Red Bank at Dayton Boulevard and Ashland Terrace, and it recently completed another in Hixson at Hixson Pike near Cassandra Smith Road.

Jack's offers burgers, chicken, biscuits and shakes, and it has more than 170 locations in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, according to the company.

The Lee Highway eatery is expected to look similar to those built by Venture in Hixson and Red Bank. The Dayton Boulevard eatery is to hold 3,700-square-feet of space and a drive-through. It's expected to open by the end of the year.

Jack's restaurants typically employ about 60 workers.

In addition to Lee Highway, Hixson and Red Bank, the chain has restaurants in East Ridge and Lookout Valley, along with sites in Fort Oglethorpe, Chickamauga and Dalton in Northwest Georgia.

On Hixson Pike, Chattanooga developer Clint Wolford said that Jack's is part of a six-acre tract where more development is planned. Wolford is developing the property with Chattanooga Lookouts co-owner John Woods.

In East Ridge, the company's store at 4209 Ringgold Road was aided by an incentive of up to $600,000 over 20 years awarded by that city based on the sales and property taxes the restaurant expects to generate.

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

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