Zaxby's, a fast-food restaurant chain known for its chicken-dominated menu, plans to open a Jefferson City franchise location by the end of summer 2016.
The Zaxby's chain, marketed as "fast-casual" dining and based in Georgia, operates in 15 states mainly across the southeastern United States. Its first two Missouri restaurants opened in January 2014 in Columbia.
The Jefferson City Zaxby's will be operated by the Mizzou Chicken Inc. franchise, owned by Taylor Perry, Tracy Perry, Vergil Tudor and Richard Brady. The franchise operates Columbia's Cinnamon Hill Lane Zaxby's, while a second franchise owned by Cheryl and Greg Jarvis operates the Providence Road Zaxby's in Columbia.
"We're still looking for our location," said Taylor Perry. "If everything works out great, we're looking at early spring of next year. If that doesn't work out, we're looking at mid-summer or end of summer."
A January 2014 news release announced plans for each of the two Columbia franchises to open a Zaxby's in Jefferson City. However, the Jarvis' franchise does not have plans to expand here at this time, according to Zaxby's media spokesperson Jamey Ivey.
Zaxby's serves a selection of sandwiches, salads, chicken fingers, chicken wings and more.
"Here in Columbia, it's going great. People seem to love it," Perry said. "There's not many fast-food places that serve the salads and sandwiches that we do and the portion sizes at the prices that we do."