Two new restaurants coming to north Bibb
Two different restaurants new to Macon are heading to north Bibb County.
Buca di Beppo, an Italian family-style restaurant owned by Orlando-based Planet Hollywood Inc., will go into 6,638 square feet of space across Gateway Drive from Barnes & Noble Booksellers at the main entrance in The Shoppes at River Crossing, said Bill Baker, senior general manager of the shopping center.
“This is one of the reasons the space has remained vacant,” Baker said. “We have been waiting for the right fit.”
Buca di Beppo announced Wednesday it has agreed to open 10 new restaurants this summer on property owned by General Growth Properties, according to a news release.
It also plans to open a restaurant in Augusta this summer, which will give the company three locations in Georgia. It already has a restaurant in Alpharetta.
The restaurant will feature its signature “quirky decor,” with irreverent photographs, strings of multi-colored lights and gingham tablecloths.
It will be the last space identified at River Crossing for a sit-down, full-service restaurant, Baker said. There are other spaces available for casual sit-down restaurants.
“We’re absolutely thrilled,” he said.
A typical Buca di Beppo restaurant employs 75-100 workers from wait staff, bartenders, kitchen staff and manager positions, said Michael Coldwell, with the chain’s public relations firm, BRAINtrust Marketing & Communications.
Applications may be filed online from the company’s website, www.bucadibeppo.com, and the company will likely hold a job fair as it gets closer to opening, Coldwell said.
The hours of the business have not yet been set, but it will be open for dinner and may be open for lunch, he said.
The chain has more than 100 locations, including five in the United Kingdom and three in Mexico. It was founded in 1993 in Minneapolis and was acquired by Planet Hollywood International Inc. in 2008.
Tex-Mex restaurant to open next month
Athens-based Barberitos, a Southwestern bar and grill that claims to serve the freshest and best-tasting burritos “in the world,” is expected to open March 5 at 4921 Riverside Drive. It will be in 2,200-square-feet of space in a strip shopping center across Riverside Drive from The Shoppes at River Crossing.
Philip and Martin Kohnen, who are brothers and own the Barberitos franchise in Milledgeville, also own the franchise in Macon.
“Philip and I are honored to be opening a second store in Macon,” Kohnen said in a news release. “We look forward to making ties into the community.”
Barberitos is a quick-serve restaurant offering fresh, Tex-Mex crusine including a variety of burritos, tacos, salads, quesadillas and nachos made to order, the release stated. None of the restaurants are equipped with freezers or microwaves as all food is prepared fresh.
The eatery will have 15 employees and it is in the hiring process now. Applicants may apply by e-mail to Phil Kohnen at Pkohnen@barberitos.com.
Barberitos has 25 restaurant franchise locations in Georgia, South and North Carolina, Tennessee and Florida.
To contact writer Linda S. Morris, call 744-4223.
This story was originally published February 16, 2012 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Two new restaurants coming to north Bibb."