Aiken Towne Park reached a milestone Wednesday morning, with the official launch of the first new business there since the redevelopment of the former Aiken Mall site began.
Chicken Salad Chick held its grand opening celebration, which included a ribbon-cutting ceremony, giveaways and the presentation of a check for $2,504.44 to Area Churches Together Serving Executive Director Suzanne Jackson.
JD Jacobs, Chicken Salad Chick’s company marketing manager for Georgia, Florida and South Carolina, said the money represented donations accepted during Friends & Family Preview Events on Monday and Tuesday at the Aiken Towne Park Chicken Salad Chick.
There were fewer than 100 people in line waiting to get inside the fast casual restaurant by 8 a.m. Wednesday, according to Jacobs.
Chicken Salad Chick’s operating hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
The address is 4087 Julep Way S.W.
The local Chicken Salad Chick, which has a drive-thru, is the first “company-owned” location in South Carolina, according to a recent news release.
Aiken resident Mark Meeks is the general manager.
Stacy and Kevin Brown were the founders in 2008 in Alabama of the Chicken Salad Chick company, the release also stated. The restaurant chain has more than 250 locations in 18 states.
Franchisees operate some of the Chicken Salad Chick eateries.
In addition to chicken salad, the restaurants serve pimento cheese, egg salad, macaroni and cheese, pasta salad, broccoli salad and more.
“We are excited that the first phase of this project is really open for business,” said Jason Long, a Southeastern Development Associates senior vice president, during a telephone interview.
Based in Augusta, Southeastern is spearheading the effort to redevelop the former Aiken Mall site.
“We anticipate to gain a lot of momentum with the few tenants,” Long added. “We expect a lot of great things to happen.”
Chicken Salad Chick is in one of the first two new retail/restaurant buildings that have been constructed on the site. A Tropical Smoothie Cafe will be a tenant in the other new structure.
Another fast-casual restaurant, Melty, which will feature grilled cheese sandwiches on its menu, is scheduled to open later this year in the building where Chicken Salad Chick is located.
Also at Aiken Towne Park, work has started on the first section of a nearly 1-mile walking trail, Long told the Aiken Standard.
The construction of another retail/restaurant building is expected to begin soon near Belk, the only business that remained after most of the Aiken Mall was demolished.
“We have hired the same contractor (Georgia-based S.D. Clifton Construction Inc.) that did the first two buildings,” Long said.
Plans call for the completion of the third retail/restaurant structure this year along with part of a park that will have an amphitheater, according to Long.
Also scheduled to begin before the end of 2024 is the construction of Aiken Towne Park’s apartment complex.
There is a new Aiken Towne Park sign at the Julep Way entrance.
Long said the Aiken Mall sign in the East Gate Drive area “was refurbished” and turned into an Aiken Town Park sign.
The Aiken Standard reported that Southeastern, doing business as Ramp G Partners LLC, purchased the Aiken Mall property for $3.025 million in 2016.
