Last month, I talked about the number of restaurants leaving the county which generated a huge amount of chatter on our Web site. Since the column ran, I’ve heard about a number of restaurants that may soon be opening. Here’s a rundown:

• Chick-fil-A’s newest location in the county is the Wilshire Pavilion Shopping Center on south Ga. Highway 74 in Peachtree City. When it opens, the restaurant will be just a stone’s throw from the schools at the South Complex, which should generate mega-business.

• Another Applebee’s is planned for Ga. Highway 54 and MacDuff Parkway. They’ll be good eating in the neighborhood as long as you can avoid the traffic and construction on the road.

• Taco Mac’s first location in Fayette will be in the old On the Border restaurant on Ga. Highway 74. As the restaurant’s Web site explains, a couple of guys from Buffalo on their way to Florida in 1979 made a stop in Atlanta. After touring the city and enjoying the weather they decided to stay. They had little cash but decided to bring a popular northern cuisine to the sunny South. They found a tiny taco shack at the corner of Virginia and Highland Avenues-now known as Virginia-Highlands.

With limited funds a decision had to be made…renovate the kitchen or change the sign out front? The kitchen won and the Mexican-Irish sounding name, “Taco Mac” remained. Before long, other Buffalo natives came down to help Taco Mac introduce Atlanta to Buffalo-style chicken wings. The menu includes many other great dishes but it was the spicy “wings” that had people talking and returning. The local chain now has 20 locations in Atlanta and Chattanooga.

• A new restaurant is planned for the intersection of Highway 74 and Dogwood Trail in Tyrone. The restaurant will be run by the former operator of Hanger 74 in Peachtree City and will feature upscale dining.

• One of the best Italian restaurants in the area will also open soon in Tyrone, across the street from Publix. Mama Lucia’s, which draws great crowds at its Thomas Crossroads location will soon call Fayette home.
These openings should help cure some of the residents that have closed in the alst few months.

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