Checkers to move to Oxford square

People searching for a bite to eat on the Square may have another option available this fall.

Checkers Drive-In is expected to be constructed in the location of the former Citgo gas station on the corner of South Lamar and University Avenue, according to city planner Katrian Hourin.

“Oxford’s demographics are a great fit for Checkers, and we believe our menu will play well with college students and other residents of the community,” Lynette McKee, CFE, chief development officer of Checkers ers Drive-In Restaurants Inc., said.

The current plan is to have the restaurant open and operating around September to coincide with the football season, according to Dwight Barker, chief operating official for Mid-South Restaurants.

“We’re hoping to open and be able to reap the benefits from all the traffic on that corner and bring something new to Oxford,” he said. Mid-South Restaurants, a franchisee of Checkers in Tennessee, North Mississippi and Arkansas, picked the Oxford area to hold the next Checkers and is paying for the new facility, with total demolition and construction cost expected to be between $300,000 and $400,000, not including equipment cost, Barker said.

The Oxford location will also be unique in that it will have a dining room. Most Checkers Drive-In restaurants are limited to just being drive-ins.

“I’m pretty excited about there being a Checkers in Oxford because it will be nice to have something new and to have more restaurant options in the future,” junior Will Burton said.

Since the new construction building is under 10,000 square feet, it does not require city planning. The only approval required is a certificate of appropriateness.

The Courthouse Square Preservation Commission approved to demolish the existing gas station and construct the fast food chain per the developer’s request.

Checkers is also planning to open 10 other locations in and around Memphis in the coming months, McKee said.

The first location will be in Memphis and will open within the next three weeks, and the next restaurant will open around June or July, Barker said.

The Oxford location will be the company’s third location to be opened within the area.

The addition of the drive-in restaurant will bring competition to other restaurants on University Avenue including Abner’s, Sonic and other drive-in-style restaurants.

Checkers is the nation’s largest chain of double drive-thru restaurants and has more than 800 locations, according to the Checkers’ Web site.

Demolition is set to begin once more details of the site plans have been worked out.

Construction is expected to start within the next couple of months.