Wingstop is tentatively scheduled to open in Starkville on July 2.
John Albriton, a developer with AB Dining based in Texas, confirmed the date Wednesday. The chicken wing specialty restaurant will be located where Krystal once was along Highway 12. A sign is up and in place.
Albriton said the restaurant will begin accepting applications next Wednesday. Stop by to apply. They are looking to hire roughly 15 people.
Wingstop began in 1994 in Garland, Texas. According to its mission statement, the goal is to serve “the ultimate buffalo-style chicken wings.” The restaurant claims to have sold two billion wings. Five other Mississippi cities have Wingstops — Ridgeland, Southaven, Clinton, Gulfport and Jackson.
A Tupelo location opened this week. It is located at 2590 West Main St.
Albriton said his company has plans to open five other Wingstop locations in Mississippi and Alabama, including a location in Oxford this year.
In Columbus, permanent signs have gone up for the DICK’s Sporting Goods and Michaels stores going in the old University Mall location on Highway 45 North.
The businesses, which will be located in the 50,000-square-foot space beside Belk, are slated to open sometime this fall. We reached out to representatives from both of the retailers to see if a firm opening date had been set. They both said they were not prepared to comment at this time.
Michaels is an arts and crafts specialty retailer that began in 1973 in Dallas, Texas. There are 1,105 of the stores in North America today. Currently, the closest one to Columbus is in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
DICK’s Sporting Goods, a full-line sporting goods retailer offering brand name goods, was founded in 1948 by Dick Stack in Binghamton, N.Y. There are more than 525 of the stores in the U.S. today, with the closest one to Columbus being in Tupelo.
Earlier this year a new business opened at 250 N. Lehmberg Road in Columbus.
Benchmark Memorial Life Center is a full-service funeral home. It has a chapel that can seat about 300 people, according to Dessie Robinson, general manager.
Robinson said the funeral home offers traditional services but with a strong online presence. Benchmark offers a digital register, live webcasts of services and a full interactive webpage. They accept all forms of insurance, Robinson said.
The business received its license late last year. The doors opened Jan. 2.
The website is at benchmarkmemoriallifecenter.com.
Lastly, a sign reading “We’re moving” has gone up in front of Ceco Building Systems on Highway 45 North.
The sign also states: “Available…328,585 square feet on 30 acres.”
We reached out to Ceco on Wednesday to inquire about the company’s plans. The message had not been returned by presstime.
Ceco has been in Columbus since 1947. It is one of the nation’s largest designers and builders of steel buildings.
William Browning was managing editor for The Dispatch until June 2016.
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