Two of Bowling Green’s busiest traffic corridors will be adding to their restaurant offerings, maybe as soon as this fall.
Following up on plans announced last year, the Lexington-based Drake’s restaurant chain has started construction on a location across from Sam’s Club on Ken Bale Boulevard near Scottsville Road.
“We have started construction on the Drake’s site there in Bowling Green,” said Drake’s CEO Mark Thornburg. “We definitely plan on being open before the end of the year.”
Thornburg said the restaurant could be open in October or November, depending on construction progress.
“We’re building one at the same time in Elizabethtown, so whichever building is done first should open in October and the other in November,” he said.
Meanwhile, the California-based Chipotle Mexican Grill chain has started site work on its second Bowling Green location, this one at 2415 Nashville Road near the intersection with Campbell Lane.
Andy Shultz, founder of Bowling Green’s KOIN Group real estate development firm that has Chipotle as a client, said work has begun on the former Independence Bank site in front of the Western Kentucky University Innovation Campus.
“It can start coming out of the ground pretty quickly,” Shultz said of what will be a 2,325-square-foot eatery on a 0.97-acre lot. “If we can get it open by the end of the year or the first of next year, that will be great.”
Shultz explained that Chipotle, a fast casual restaurant specializing in bowls, tacos and burritos, has seen the need for a second location in Bowling Green to complement the one at 3040 Scottsville Road.
“That location (on Scottsville Road) is completely swamped a lot of times,” Shultz said. “They needed a second location. With all the growth out Nashville Road, they saw this as a good location.”
It will add to a growing commercial corridor and to an expanding restaurant chain.
Founded in 1993, Chipotle has grown to more than 3,400 locations and reported revenue of $9.87 billion last year.
Drake’s is also growing, although on a smaller scale.
Co-founded by Brian McCarty and Bruce Drake in 1998, Drake’s parent Bluegrass Hospitality Group has grown to include six total brands, including Malone’s and Harry’s.
According to its website, the Drake’s brand now has 25 locations across Kentucky, Alabama, Indiana, Tennessee, Illinois and Missouri.
Adding a location in Bowling Green was a natural fit, according to Drake’s Marketing Director Leela Atchison.
“We love Bowling Green for several reasons: the location off the interstate, a thriving university, and a vibrant local community,” Atchison said in an email. “We also know there are already many Drake’s guests located in Bowling Green who visit our other Kentucky locations.”
The 7,000-square-foot Drake’s in Bowling Green will have a seating capacity of 250, Atchison said. It will have a year-round patio with large garage doors that will open during warm weather. It will also house two bars, one on the patio and one inside.
Its menu will include “American-style pub food,” including burgers, steaks, sandwiches, wings and tacos. Like other Drake’s locations, this one will include BHG’s Aqua Sushi brand with an extensive sushi menu.