I hope the unnamed restaurant turns out to be Cheesecake Factory.
Columbia County residents feeling pangs for new restaurants might soon experience some relief as six new eateries are set to arrive.
Among the new establishments is Mellow Mushroom, a pizzeria that already has a downtown Augusta location.
"The building will be brand new," said owner Shawn Ledford, who intends to build on the site of a former used car lot opposite the Evans Kroger on Washington Road. "It's definitely going to be funky, like downtown, but I'm going to make it a little different. It will be bigger and more comfortable."
Mr. Ledford said the new Mellow Mushroom will open this year, but a date hasn't been set.
Other restaurants planned for the county include Cracker Barrel, Taco Bell, Eggroll Express, Amichi Italian Restaurant and TakoSushi.
There is a TakoSushi in Augusta's Surrey Center, with other locations in Aiken and Greenville, S.C. Owner Kevin Goldsmith said he believes a market exists in Evans for his unique restaurant, which features Southwestern and Japanese cuisine.
"I think a lot of people in Evans don't want to make the trek to Augusta, at nighttime especially," he said. "If the traffic is bad, it could be a half-hour trip each way."
The restaurant would be in the Evans Town Center area.
Marshall Square developer Don Lawrence recently confirmed that a well-known restaurant chain has agreed to build inside the development between Evans Town Center Boulevard and North Belair Road. However, a confidentiality agreement prevents him from revealing the name.
"They've been working on their plans and I'm sure, very soon, they'll be going to the county with those plans," Mr. Lawrence said. "Soon, people will find out."
Reach Donnie Fetter at (706) 868-1222, ext. 115, or donnie.fetter@augustachronicle.com.
PLANNED RESTAURANTS
| RESTAURANT | LOCATION | PROJECTED | COMPLETION | |
| Cracker Barrel | North Belair Road | September | ||
| Eggroll Express | North Belair Road | TBA | ||
| Mellow Mushroom | Washington Road | 2008 | ||
| TakoSushi | Town Park Lane | June | ||
| Taco Bell | South Belair Road | TBA | ||
| Amichi ItalianRestaurant | Jimmie Dyess Parkway | TBA |
Comments
I hope the unnamed restaurant turns out to be Cheesecake Factory.
Or a seafood restaurant like Red Lobster in Evans. That would be great!
How about a real seafood restaurant, like not Red Lobster. And Cheesecake Factory? I've never been to one that wasn't anchored by a substantial shopping center (Town Center type or Mall).
We need Steak n Shake
How about a meat and potato resturant, not fast food.
If the Chronicle got the spelling right, and the Italian restaurant is actually spelled "Amichi," it certainly won't be authentic Italian.
Like Evans doesn't have enough fast food joints. TacoSushi is about the best of the bunch proposed.
How about building a restaurant eating (shopping) center. Have all in one place.
How about a Dave and Busters. US adults want to have a lil fun. travleing to Atlanta is too much these days with gas prices sky rocketing.
From this article, I get the feeling that downtown Augusta has been on "life support" and unable to sustain itself. We can't talk of revitalization and no man's land in the same breath. What is the point of investing if no one wants to wander into downtown at nighttime. Downtown needs some serious PR work. What does it take for people to change their perception? Build Gaza-like walls around the undesirable parts of town? Build levees and let the river drown out bad neighborhoods? It takes political resolve to eliminate the blight that deflects potential investments away from downtown. Does this mean tearing down "projects?" Does this mean exercising eminent domain? Do we have to invoke the doctrine of separation of Church and State to get things done? Downtown has so much to offer. Mr Gorbachev, tear down the blight !!!
we need a new lonestar steakhouse,i realize wal greens offer for the land was to good for lonestar to turn down,but the place stayed packed ,i dont understand why they wont rebuild .
raves for the new taco bell on belair!!
Going downtown was a great idea before the cost of gas exploded. I'm glad to see this restaurants coming to Evans so I don't have to drive so far.
That's what locals need - more junk food. If this is Ron Cross' idea of quality restaurants, he can keep them. He's the one who thinks Red Robin is a "high end" eatery. Who can possibly call Taco Bell, Egg Roll Express "restaurants"? I wonder why the much-touted standing of Evans of 33rd best places to live has dropped precipitously? The county commssion is allowing the cutting down trees, clearing fields, and turning Evans into one big strip mall (hey we might need more nail salons for high paying jobs). So long as it brings in sales tax for the overflowing coffers for Columbia County – it’s all good for the pro-development commission.
The old cracker barrel off belair rd by pilot gas station and I-20 before it turns into jimmie dyess in west augusta. In grovetown has close down recently. So i guess the new cracker barrel in evans is going to replace that one. The taco bell by the food lion on south belair rd going to west augusta. I think is considered to be martinez, ga. The amichi resturant is on the border of richmond and columbia. Its on jimmie dyess so im not sure if its considered grovetown, west augusta, or martinez. The rest im sure are considered to be in evans, ga.
A Ruth Chris steakhouse would be fantastic!
It's gonna be a Chili's...should be opening in 6 months or so....
I heard Chilis was going to be by Home Depot and Cracker Barrel, maybe that has changed. I am sure Dave & Busters is coming (they have been running TV commercials recently in this market) but more than likely it will be over by the Bass Pro Shop in Richmond Co. I heard Egg Roll Express is supposed to be awesome. Apparently there are a bunch of people from Evans that drive to South Augusta just for the food. It is nice to see a variety of cuisine, instead of just mexican or chinese (not that they aren't good too).
I am so happy to have Mellow Mushroom coming to Evans! I love that place but it's a long drive downtown. The atmosphere is fun for adults as well as kids!
We need a Steak and Ale. Fantastic food, best service there is, and the nearest one is Atlanta or Greenville.
Unfortunately, Columbia County patrons are notorious for supporting a new restaurant ONE TIME. Sad when you develop palette fatigue after just one visit. And with so many NEW restaurants that have opened in the last year and the ones to open soon, I'm glad I don't own one that is two years old. Cannibalism is not what IT used to be. My favorites are Osaka Sushii, Poblanos, and Waffle House. Asian, Mexican, and Southern. Sounds like a food pyramid to me.
Ohmygawd. More mediocre restaurants coming. The same ole, same ole.....except Tacosushi thankfully.
Are CC residents standards really this low that they get excited over Cracker Barrel, "Dead" Lobster, Chili's, etc?
Very discouraging. Give me a GOOD non-chain eatery anyday, please!
Why did MARTINEZ/Martinez/West Augusta say that the Cracker Barrel at I20 and Bel Air closed. It is wide open and has no plans for closing. That kind of rumor can hurt a restaurant. Folks should be careful before posting bad data.
Jultlilme. Where do you find one? The closet thing I found is Peggy's in Wrens. It's about a 25 min drive, great home-cooked food. I don't know of a single one in Augusta/Martinez/Evans.
I grew up in Martinez/Evans and it's not that far to drive to Augusta! Plus it's a change of scenery. I will still go downtown and eat where the restaurants have character.
Eating out is really the rage these days but with inflation heating up I wonder when and if folks will cut back on it. Eating out is certainly bad for your health in general so cutting back would be a plus.
What is interesting to me is that fact that all of this development (money) and commerce (money) and business (money) is going on in Columbia County, not Augusta/Richmond County. I wonder why that is? BTW, Purvis, I saw on TV that during tough economic times two job categories that tend to be the most secure are medical industry jobs and food service jobs. The reasons for the medical industry jobs are obvious; the food service is because people are social creatures who get cabin fever easily and don't like to do the dishes.
Augusta had a Steak and Ale at one time. Also, the extra money will be going in the gas tanks instead of allowing us to eat out.
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