QUESTION: Has something gone wrong with the construction of Cook Out’s new eatery at Holly Hill Mall? Why, with the building substantially complete, are there no preparations to open this restaurant?
ANSWER: It isn’t entirely clear why Cook Out’s new restaurant in Burlington is not yet “in the bag.”
But the apparent delay in this project, which is situated on an outparcel of Holly Hill Mall, is not necessarily a sign of some disastrous setback, according to Burlington’s inspections director Russell Williams.
Williams insists that, as far as he knows, the Thomasville-based restaurant chain hasn’t soured on this forthcoming eatery, which has been steadily taking shape across the street from an existing Cook Out location along Huffman Mill Road. He added that any issues which have come up at this juncture are assuredly quite minor.
“One of the things that’s been going on,” he explained in an interview Monday, “is that, I think, they’ve been going around with the contractor about the menu boards at the drive thru.”
On the whole, Williams said that the new restaurant is exactly what the company had ordered when it submitted the specs for the new Burlington location.
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Although some passersby may find it peculiar that the building faces away from Huffman Mill Road, the city’s inspections director contends that this orientation is entirely by design and ensures that the restaurant’s parking is within easy reach of its seating area – a feature that’s omitted from the existing location along Huffman Mill Road.
The Alamance News has been unable to obtain any additional information about this project from the restaurant chain. A receptionist at Cook Out’s corporate office simply notified the newspaper that it isn’t the company’s policy to discuss development matters. Meanwhile, the company’s online restaurant locator lists an address in Raleigh as the nearest site where a new eatery is “coming soon.”
At this point, Cook Out continues to do brisk business from its existing drive-thru at 414 Huffman Mill Road. The company also has long-running operations along South Main Street in Graham and Mebane Oaks Road in Mebane.
Meanwhile, Williams acknowledges that he sees no reason why things shouldn’t start sizzling at the Holly Hill Mall location once the company has squared away whatever last minute issues it has with the project.
“The same thing happened with Popeyes,” the city’s inspections director said in reference to Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, which has opened for business on another Holly Hills outparcel. “They had done all of their inspections, the building was complete, but they waited for a couple of months before they opened.”
