By Mark Wineka
mwineka@salisburypost.com
A LongHorn Steakhouse will be built at Wallace Commons, the new retail center being developed along Klumac Road next to Interstate 85.
Kohl’s, the first major tenant for Wallace Commons, will open Sept. 28 with a grand opening scheduled for Oct. 1.
LongHorn Steakhouse, which specializes in Western fare such as steak, burgers and appetizers, plans a 5,500- to 5,700-square-foot restaurant, according to a city zoning permit and a Rowan County building permit.
Grading has started on both the Longhorn SteakHouse and the Olive Garden outparcels on either side of the new driveway into Wallace Commons.
Olive Garden will be on the left side, or Julian Road side, of the driveway leading into Kohl’s, and LongHorn Steakhouse (1371 Klumac Road) will be on the right side.
Building permits, issued Aug. 26 and 27, put the value of the LongHorn Steakhouse at $662,830; and the Olive Garden, $885,479.
The Olive Garden restaurant (1425 Klumac Road) will be 7,441 square feet.
Anticipated opening dates for both restaurants is next spring.
Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse are both part of the same chain, Darden Restaurants of Orlando, Fla.
LongHorn Steakhouse has 16 other locations in North Carolina, including restaurants in Charlotte, Concord and Huntersville.
Bevans Enterprises of Covington, Ga., is the general contractor for both the Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse in Salisbury.
Kohl’s has been hiring about 130 full- and part-time workers for its Salisbury store.
Construction of the store, an expansive parking lot and the new entrance is finished.
Home Depot has bought the land adjacent to Kohl’s toward Julian Road, but construction of a Salisbury store has been put on hold because of the poor economy.
Meanwhile, construction has started on a new Biscuitville restaurant at 515 Jake Alexander Blvd., the site of the former Foster’s Prime Sirloin.