The second Zaxby's in Orangeburg is scheduled to open in late March or early April on St. Matthews Road next door to the Shell gasoline station and Hampton Inn at Interstate 26.

The 3,300-square-foot restaurant will employ between 40 and 50.

The restaurant will seat about 83 and there will be 57 parking spaces, including three handicap spaces.

Tentative restaurant hours will be from Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Restaurant operating partners are Corey Wright and Nate Stephenson, who have a combined restaurant experience of about 20 years, all with Zaxby's,

The opening of a new Zaxby's was something the men have been examining for about three years after receiving requests from its customer base.

"They enjoy and they love the product," Stephenson said, noting that the U.S. 601 market will capture Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College and the Regional Medical Center as well as interstate traffic.

The U.S. 601 restaurant will provide customers the same service and menu as the current North Road restaurant, with some upgraded renovations also planned to the North Road facility.

After renovations, both restaurants will provide customers a more modernized ambiance complete with plasma television.

Zaxby's also provides a drive-thru for customers on the go.

The menu will be the same with chicken fingers, wings, sandwiches and salads.

"That area is really growing good," Wright said, about the U.S. 601/Interstate 26 section. "We had a lot of people saying we need to have another location over there. I am really excited about it and can't wait to open."

The North Road is currently the only one located in The T&D Region, according to the Zaxby's Web site.

Individuals interested in applying for managerial, cashiers or cook positions for the U.S. 601 location are asked to visit the North Road restaurant from Monday through Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

There are 63 Zaxby's locations in the state, according to the Web site.

Founded by Zach McLeroy and Tony Townley in 1990, the first Zaxby's opened in Statesboro, Ga.

McLeroy and Townley opened four more restaurants, and in 1994, they began to franchise the brand.

The Athens, Ga.-based chain has boomed to more than 415 units in 10 Southeastern states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

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