New fried-chicken franchise, Zaxby's, coming to Cape

Zaxby's is expanding to include a franchise restaurant in Cape Girardeau and another in Sikeston, Missouri.

The fast-casual chain, best known for its prepared-at-order chicken, will be near the Mercato Di Rodi convenience station on South Mount Auburn Road.

Cape Girardeau city officials are in the final stages of reviewing the building plans, but a building-permit application filed with the city describes the project as a 72-seat steel building with a drive-through window.

The 3,654-square-foot new construction is expected to cost about $560,000, according to the building permit.

Manwell Hults Missouri I LLC is listed as the applicant/tenant.

Chip Hults, the franchise owner and operator, called Cape Girardeau and Sikeston "good fits" for the Zaxby's brand, especially considering the location of Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau.

His company owns seven Zaxby's franchises in Florida, Tennessee and Kentucky.

"We're hoping to start construction in Sikeston in the next week or two," Hults said, adding it typically takes about four months to build a Zaxby's, and the Cape Girardeau restaurant likely will follow one or two months behind the Sikeston location.

"We're going to try to hire 45 to 50 new team members for each location," Hults said.

Zaxby's was founded in Statesboro, Georgia, in 1990 and is headquartered in Athens, Georgia.

The chain has more than 800 locations across more than 16 states, mostly in the Southeast and Midwest, according to the company website, which also lists an additional 20 locations on the way.

There are six Zaxby's restaurants in Missouri, including Kansas City, Columbia and Springfield. The closest Zaxby's to Cape Girardeau is in Paducah, Kentucky.

tgraef@semissourian.com

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