Olive Garden/Red Lobster will bring 185 jobs - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

Olive Garden/Red Lobster will bring 185 jobs

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By Stephen Abel - bio | email
Don Sims Don Sims

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THOMASVILLE, GA (WALB) - A 2.5 acre mega-restaurant will bring close to 200 jobs to south Georgia.

The builders say Thomasville's Red Lobster-Olive Garden combo is ahead of schedule and set to open in December.

And Thomas County officials expect the two restaurants significantly boost the local economy.

Two restaurants, 9,315 square feet, and triple the impact on Thomasville. "First it's an investment in our community of some $1.7 million," said Thomas County Chamber of Commerce President Don Sims.

The Thomas County Chamber of Commerce expects 185 new jobs to come with this new mega-restaurant."

"As you've heard throughout this political campaign, it's all about the jobs. So we're very excited about that, but there is a third portion of this and that is the tax revenue that will be generated from those two restaurants," said Sims.

Thomasville's Red Lobster and Olive Garden will be under the same roof, but will operate as two separate restaurants.

And Sims says it may spark a new interest for new or long-time jobseekers. "A lot of people haven't thought about the restaurant business and I believe they'll find there are some great career opportunities there."

Sims say the location on U.S. 19 was deliberately picked because of the high traffic volume. "I think we'll have a good group of people that will recognize that brand and we'll be glad to see that. Especially in a community they might feel like small than they normally see an olive garden and a red lobster."

Darden, the restaurants parent company, says they will begin hiring six weeks prior to opening.

The restaurants are expected to open December 10th.

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