Friday, May 27, 2005

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Eatery planned for restaurant space at tennis center

Tourism Association to wade through proposals from compan

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

Responding to a “overwhelming” request from members of the Peachtree City Tennis Center, officials are working to secure a restaurant to replace the departed Ashland Grille eatery that closed in January.

A survey revealed members’ wishes to have another restaurant in the space, and the city’s Tourism Association has sent out requests for proposals from restauranteurs in addition to placing ads seeking proposals, said Linda McCarthy, executive director of the association.

The proposals are due the end of the month, and it will likely take three or four weeks to sort through them and negotiate a contract, McCarthy said. The hope is to have the restaurant open sometime in July, she added.

As to what menu that restaurant might offer, that’s up in the air. McCarthy said tennis center members want grill fare that can be ready fairly quickly. Healthy food such as smoothies might be a good offering to have available, McCarthy added.

“We also want to look at buffets for teams that come in for events and tournaments,” McCarthy said, adding that such a program would need a recommendation from the vendor that is ultimately approved to rent the space.

Initially, McCarthy wanted to look at how else the former Ashland Grille space could be utilized. Some tennis centers offer day care facilities, she previously noted, but the feedback from members who returned surveys was important in steering the direction on this effort.