Posted on March 23, 2017.
By Thomas Sellers Jr.
Millington Zaxby’s owner Jeremy Gattie welcomes his first couple of hundred customers along withi Millington Mayor Terry Jones, Alderman Al Bell and Millington Area Chamber of Commerce’s Dianne Baker last Monday.
The first customers of the Millington Zaxby’s received a cold introduction weatherwise but warm greeting from the owner Jeremy Gattie. Gattie was calling out card numbers to the first 100 customers holding the door open at the 8537 Highway 51 location. Those lucky people won free Zaxby’s for a year being the first 100 in line March 13 for the grand opening. On hand for the day were city of Millington officials like Mayor Terry Jones, the Millington Area Chamber of Commerce was in full force and The University of Memphis including mascot Pouncer was in the newest Millington restaurant for the event. “It’s awesome,” Gattie said. “It’s been a long time coming. It’s been a year-long project trying to get something up here on the North part of the County. We’re excited. And it’s relief. “We would like to draw people from Atoka, Munford, Drummonds, Brighton, any part of Tipton County,” he added. “Raleigh, Frayser we would like to see anybody coming.” Zaxby’s is the latest addition to the growing landscape of Millington along Highway 51. The eatery will be next door to Hardee’s and across the street from The Shoppes of Millington Farms. The structure has seating for 90 and is 3,800-square-feet.It has the Zaxby’s farmhouse design, which rolled out last year. Zaxby’s features dine-in and drive-thru for customers. This location will be the fifth Zaxby’s in Shelby County. Zaxby’s currently operates in 17 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia. An alternative to fast food, Zaxby’s offers prepared-at-order chicken fingers, wings, sandwiches and salads. Zaxby’s most popular items are its hand-breaded Chicken Fingerz and Traditional or Boneless Wings, smothered in a choice of nine sauces with names like Wimpy, Tongue Torch, Nuclear and Insane. The menu also offers innovative Zappetizers like Tater Chips, Spicy Fried Mushrooms and Fried White Cheddar Bites, as well as a variety of Party Platterz perfect for any family gathering or special occasion. Millington Zaxby’s guests will feature the Coca-Cola Company’s proprietary drink fountain, Coca-Cola Freestyle.The sleek, stylish fountain is touchscreen operated, enabling guests to select from more than 100 regular and low-calorie brands — including many varieties of waters, sports drinks, lemonades and sparkling beverages that were not available in the U.S. prior to the arrival of Coca-Cola Freestyle. Zaxby’s also offers four salads, or Zalads: The House, The Blue, The Caesar and its newest addition, The Cobb. All of Zaxby’s Zalads are prepared with chicken, three kinds of lettuce, interesting ingredients — such as French-fried onions — fresh veggies and juicy tomatoes, and are larger than most salads served elsewhere. Zalads are assembled at the time the order is placed, versus being pre-made and stored in a cooler. Gattie said in addition to food, Zaxby’s wants to offer chances of growth for Millington. “One of the biggest things is we would create opportunities, jobs for people,” he said. “I’m excited to get involved with the schools. We hope to get them in here to do fundraisers, those types of things. We want to get our group settled in here. Millington is a good-size town. We want to have an impact and get involved with non-profit organizations.” Gattie said there were several people to help make opening day possible like his business partner Tom Scott. Zaxby’s district manager Matt Irby was described as the brains behind the operation coming. On site, general manager Courtney Bandy is helping to get things off to a smooth start. And Gattie noted assistant managers Amanda, Jordan and Madison are working along with the 40 team members to make sure Zaxby’s gets off to a great start in Millington. Despite near freezing temperatures and wet conditions, Gattie greeted people from Munford, Atoka, Memphis, Brighton, Rosemark and some educators from Millington. “I wish we could say we planned it like this,” he concluded. “But we just got lucky. I thought this week would be a good week. We just hope we can always have good, hot fresh food and happy faces to greet everyone.”
For more information, visit zaxbys.com or zaxbysfranchising.com.
