Blackshear is getting a Zaxby’s.
Social media lit up with posts and pictures, including one by County Manager Raphel Maddox, notifying local fans that they would no longer have to drive to Waycross for their Zaxby’s fix.
What many might not know is the when and the how. The land that is the future site of the popular chicken eatery was, until approximately 32 days ago, the property of local businessman Dawayne King. The parcel of land adjoins a small plaza of storefronts which is the first thing you see on the right as you enter Blackshear eastbound on Highway 84. That plaza, the home of Southeast Flooring, Warehouse Billiard, Southern Haven and Pierce Deli, was also part of the deal.
The sign that has everyone talking. Social media lit up as soon as the signage was posted. Behind it, the plaza that was part of the deal. Southeast Flooring and Warehouse Billiard will relocate to new homes. Picture by Greg O’Driscoll
King negotiated a year lease into the selling price of the land for Zaxby’s, which will give him time to finish constructing two new buildings on the recently cleared land behind Dairy Queen—the new home for both Southeast Flooring and a new, improved Warehouse Billiard.
While in town to inspect the site, Zaxby franchisee Taylor Hawkins of Callahan asked Chris Bond of the Planning and Code Department where he could get some lunch. Bond says, “I told him he could probably see Southern Roost from across the road. He asked me what they served. I told him chicken!”
