electrician in Indian Trailo, NC

INDIAN TRAIL, N.C. — The Town of Indian Trail in Union County has a new mayor: David Cohn. Cohn took over in late February after the death of now former Mayor Michael Alvarez.

Alvarez, well-known in Indian Trail for always being available and giving his contact information out to residents, passed away in January after battling cancer.

The town was then left searching for a new mayor to fill out the end of Alvarez’s term, which ends in late 2023.

Current council members eventually settled on Cohn, a 10-year veteran of the council himself. Cohn served his first two terms on council from 2012 to 2020, before filling in for another term on council the following years.

“You know there were things I wanted to see get done in the town,” Cohn said about his desire to join council, highlighting his work for the town’s parks. “The year I got in, we decided instead of doing one park, we’ll do two parks,” Cohn added, “[We] got the park bond passed.”

Cohn has lived in Union County for 16 years, saying he and his wife agreed back in the early 2000s, Indian Trail would be a great place to live.

In 2012, he ran for council with Alvarez, and then ran again. Now, he’s filling Alvarez’s seat at town council meetings and around town.

“I consider it an honor to be asked to do it, and to do it. So, I told them I would,” Cohn said about being asked to serve the end of Alvarez’s term.

He was officially sworn-in as the town’s new mayor on February 22, 2022.

“To tell you the truth, I really have to pay attention all the time now. Before I could let my mind drift a little bit, sometimes, but as mayor, you’ve got to be on your toes at all times. And I’m saying that halfway kidding,” Cohn joked.

Cohn said he jokes around like former Mayor Alvarez, the man he shared 10 years with on town council.

“He was a people mayor, he was for the people and helped the people, so I’d kind of like to be known to do the same,” Cohn said“He was a people mayor, he was for the people and helped the people, so I’d kind of like to be known to do the same,” Cohn said about what of Alvarez’s tenure he would bring to his own.

But the mayor’s job is not all business. Cohn also gets to have some fun, like when he went around to the town’s schools, talking with fourth graders about trees and sustainability of the environment with the town’s park and recreation staff.

“You know, on council we don’t get out and do this type of thing as much. There’s a lot more to do as the mayor,” Cohn said after addressing the gathered fourth graders. “I enjoy it, you know, I enjoy just every aspect of doing it, whether it’s working with kids or helping somebody with their storm water issues, it’s just fun to help people.

Cohn said he’s reminded of Alvarez’s impact to the community constantly, even sharing the same mayoral phone number as Alvarez.

“As a matter of fact, funny thing is my phone number’s the same thing as his phone number, so anybody that had his phone number has my phone number,” Cohn said with a smile.

Alvarez, known across town and at town hall for working the phones, answering questions and calling town staff with citizen requests, left big shoes to fill. One last lesson still sticks in Cohn’s brain as he continues settling in to the new role, something he said he also watched Alvarez do almost every day.

“This job is not about me, it’s about the town and it’s about enjoying helping people and I think Michael did a good job of doing that,” Cohn said.

The town’s business continues, despite who’s running council meetings. Cohn said he and town council are currently hard at work figuring out the details of next year’s budget.

“We’ve got some, what we call ARPA funds now, which is federal government’s giving us money that we’ve never had before. And, we’re actually getting to buy some firetrucks with it, getting to spend some money on parks and roads. And that’s what people want, they want us to fix the roads,” Cohn said about the budget process.

It’s a budget process Cohn is used to from his days on council, but this time he’s leading the conversation from his new chair with lessons remembered from its former user.

UNION COUNTY, N.C. — A Union County hardware store is in trouble with the state after inspectors found the business overcharged customers. Their recent inspection of Ace Hardware Indian Trail flagged widespread problems in the checkout line.

State records reveal the store's scanners overcharged inspectors by nearly $90 over the advertised prices on a sample size of 50.

"There's no excuse for that amount of overcharge," North Carolina Department of Agriculture Standards Division Measurement Manager Chad Parker said. "It's just someone, personnel, neglecting their job."

Parker said the overcharging at the store in question is by far the worst he's witnessed in recent years.

"All it takes is a little bit of work and you're a whole lot better than that," he said.

Inspectors visited the store in early March after receiving a complaint. Their final report lists more than 20 items that rang up at a higher price, ranging from 40 cents up to $5 per item.

Parker said inspectors are finding more and more businesses overcharging customers. State records identify an extraordinarily high number of stores across the state, 22 in all, fined in the fourth quarter of 2021 for overcharging and Parker expects the problem to continue. He believes it's a sign of the times, the result of a labor shortage coupled with inflation.

"It's just getting very bad right now as far as overcharges," he said. "Inflation causes the prices to go up and it's hard to hire the correct people or enough people to help change the prices."

Overcharging costs customers like Jerry Griffin.

"I got to pay for it," he said. "It comes out of my pocket in ways I don't like."

Inspectors will visit the Indian Trail store again in the coming weeks and depending on what they find then, could fine the company up to $5,000.

WCNC Charlotte is always asking "where's the money?" If you need help, reach out to WCNC Charlotte by emailing money@wcnc.com.

Customers, while shocked by the problem, said they trust the store will make things right.

"I would assume they are going to correct it one way or the other," Frank Witkowski said.

The store’s owner originally agreed to an interview with WCNC Charlotte, but canceled. He later sent a statement.

"The Helpful Hardware Company acquired Indian Trail Hardware, where this incident occurred, in 2021 and has been undertaking the painstaking process of converting it from its previous wholesaler to Ace Hardware," owner and CEO Darin Workman said. "Unfortunately, during this transition there have been isolated discrepancies between our shelf price and our scanned price. Our ongoing policy states that whenever such discrepancies are identified, we will honor the lower of the two. We are currently inspecting our entire inventory to identify and eliminate any such discrepancies and are confident that the Department of Agriculture will be satisfied upon its return to reinspect the store. We deeply appreciate the opportunity to serve Indian Trail and will continue making every effort to be regarded as a respected, appreciated member of this community."

If you believe a store you frequent is overcharging customers, you can reach out to the Standards Division at (984) 236-4750.

WCNC Charlotte only found out about customers getting overcharged at this store because a viewer sent in a tip. If you have a tip you want our team to investigate, we'd love to hear from you too.

We've made it easy for you. Just email investigators@wcnc.com

WCNC Charlotte is committed to reporting on the issues facing the communities we serve. We tell the stories of people working to solve persistent social problems. We examine how problems can be solved or addressed to improve the quality of life and make a positive difference. WCNC Charlotte is seeking solutions for you. Send your tips or questions to newstips@wcnc.com.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad sentenced Joseph Ransome, 51, of Indian Trail, N.C., to 30 months in prison for wire fraud yesterday, for defrauding the COVID-19 Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefit program, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Judge Conrad also ordered Ransome to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $44,172 in restitution.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal lawenacted March 29, 2020, designed to provide emergency financial assistance, including expanded UI benefits, to millions of Americans suffering the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to plea documents and statements made in court, from March 2020 through July 2020, Ransome received UI benefits to which he was not entitled. Court documents show that Ransome applied for fraudulent UI benefits in multiple states, including in North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, and elsewhere. Ransome filed for the UI benefits based on fraudulent claims, including non-existent employment and false reason for termination. For example, Ransome falsely claimed to have been laid off from Walmart in North Carolina due to COVID-19, when in fact Ransome had been laid off due to misconduct. Ransome also falsely claimed prior employment at Target, BestBuy, Lowe’s, and Hobby Lobby, and falsely claimed that he had been laid off from some of these companies because he had been diagnosed with COVID-19 or due to lack of work because of the coronavirus when he had never in fact been employed by those companies. As a result of the fraudulent scheme, during the relevant time period, Ransome applied for more than $163,000 in fraudulent UI benefits provided under the expanded CARES Act.

* * *

In a separate case, Judge Conrad revoked Bryon Jones’s supervised release after the defendant violated its terms by engaging in a scheme to defraud the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). According to court documents in this case, Jones, 66, of Charlotte, used false and fraudulent business information to apply for and receive through his business, Ramses Air Freight & Transport, Inc., $142,900 in COVID-19 relief funds disbursed by the SBA under the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. Jones, who was on a 10-year term of federal supervised release for a previous drug trafficking conviction, was ordered to serve 24 months in prison and five years of supervised release for the new violations.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King commended the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the FBI, and the Atlanta Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General, for their investigation of the Ransome case. Jones’s investigation was conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the SBA and the U.S. Probation Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Caryn Finley was in charge of the prosecution against Ransome. The Jones prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Graham Billings.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form. Members of the public in the Western District of North Carolina are also encouraged to call 704-344-6222 to reach their local Coronavirus Fraud Coordinator.

Mending Pawz Rescue says the increase in supplies over the last year have gone up about 10%

INDIAN TRAIL, N.C. — The impact of inflation is affecting everyone in different ways, but for Mending Pawz Rescue of NC, the founders say rising costs are now making their mission much more challenging to rescue as many cats as possible and find their forever homes.

The rescue first started back in 2018. Typically Mending Pawz says donations cover about 20% of its costs. The rest is out of pocket. Now those out-of-pocket expenses are becoming much more costly.

“I’d say the increase in supplies overall over the past year has probably gone up about 10 percent," Matthew Szymanski said. “The average cost per cat from intake through placement is anywhere from $250 to $650 depending on the cat.”

WCNC Charlotte is always asking "where's the money?" If you need help, reach out to WCNC Charlotte by emailing money@wcnc.com.

Some of the necessary supplies to provide for the 40-50 cats in their care include food, litter, veterinary visits, cleaning supplies, beds, crates and more.

“Unfortunately it all comes down to money and if we can’t stretch thin anymore, we have [had] to turn away cats in the past -- which is the antithesis to our mission," Szymanski said.

Mending Pawz says they can make the most of one-time or recurring donations to help meet some of their needs.

“One of the benefits of having the recurring monthly donation versus just the one time is that it allows us to project out into the future how many cats we’ll be able to intake this month," Szymanski said.

But in addition to money, Mending Pawz is also looking for volunteers willing to offer their time or skill such as pro bono veterinary services or social media help.

For those interested in helping or donating, Mending Pawz has an Amazon wish list.

UNION COUNTY, N.C. — Two Union County teenagers are hopeful the town of Indian Trail considers their proposal to build a skate park.

The two college students, who became friends in high school, said the closest public skate parks are roughly a half hour away. Meaning, when the two want to skate in a safe, free environment, it requires a lengthy drive.

Sam McMackin, a 19-year-old student at Appalachian State, and his friend Wyatt Austin, a 19-year-old Central Piedmont Community College student, put their desire into action, speaking to town council officially in February.

Two college students from Indian Trail want the town to consider a public skate park

The two say a public park is safer, more accessible for residents and keeps kids from skating on public streets

The town asked the two teens to start researching public grants, which would fund the park's construction

The two introduced their plan to town council with a PowerPoint presentation, asking the town to consider the proposal and build a public skate park.

Now, as the proposal moves to future steps, Austin said a public skate park makes sense for the town.

“Kids can just come out and not have to worry about, 'Am I going to get yelled at? Am I going to get hurt on the streets?' Or just stuff like that so I think it’s important for something like this to be had in Indian Trail,” Austin explained. “Kids can just come out and not have to worry about, 'Am I going to get yelled at? Am I going to get hurt on the streets?' Or just stuff like that so I think it’s important for something like this to be had in Indian Trail,” Austin explained.

He said the sport teaches good life skills, such as not to give up on your goals. In fact, he’s even using the push for a park as part of his college education in marketing.

“I think this is good experience for me, kind of having to market to people. And just go out and talk to, you know, city leaders about getting this built, so I think it was a lot of good practice for me for real life,” Austin added.

When Austin first had the idea to ask the town for a park, it was now-deceased Mayor Michael Alvarez who encouraged the teens to pursue their goal, present to the town and research the project.

“He just told us everything we need to do, gave us a great motivational speech saying, ‘Anything’s possible as long as you work hard for it,'” McMackin said about the call.

McMackin, who’s been skating for years, said the idea of a park in his town was always on his mind, but his friend Wyatt helped put it into action.

“Getting a skate park near where I live has always kind of been on my mind. But it was really Wyatt that kind of took the initiative to get the ball rolling,” McMackin recalled.

The two met in high school in Union County, bonding over their love of skating, sports and music.

“I know we had lunch together, what was it senior year? Yeah. Yeah, senior year of high school we had lunch I think first semester,” McMackin asked his friend while taking a break from skating.

Now, the two skate together about three times a week when they’re not busy with college and other responsibilities. Usually, the two make the half-hour drive to a public park outside of Charlotte, which has a public, free skate park.

“It’s about 30 minutes, it’s right off of Tyvola Road,” Austin said.

The Renaissance Park ramps give Austin and McMackin an opportunity to do what they love and get good exercise.

“After like 30 minutes of skating I’ll be kinda tired, so I think it’s good exercise and me and my friends get to come out here and have fun, so that’s what it’s all about,” Austin said.“After like 30 minutes of skating I’ll be kinda tired, so I think it’s good exercise and me and my friends get to come out here and have fun, so that’s what it’s all about,” Austin said.

“I love coming out here. I guess it’s because how creative you can be on a skateboard. You know, there’s not really any rules to what you can and can’t do about skateboarding,” McMackin added.

After presenting to council, the two teenagers said the town asked them to start researching public grants, which the council could apply for to help fund a future park.

In a statement the town spokesperson said, “The Town of Indian Trail had a follow-up conversation with Wyatt and Sam after their presentation to the Town Council. We have asked them to look into funding options through possible grants or business sponsorships, as there is currently no Town funding set aside for a skate park. The Town has also been in contact with a leading skate park design company and is working with LandDesign, Inc. to explore potential Town property that would meet the needs for future park projects. If any available property could match the project and funding were secured, the Town would be open to considering a future skate park. We appreciate Wyatt and Sam getting involved with the Town and speaking up for something important to them.”

It's a consideration these two skaters, turned best friends, are determined to see become reality.

“If we had a park in Indian Trail, I’d do it every day,” Austin said.

Alexander Central 17, North Gaston 8

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Asheville Reynolds 45, Shelby 21

Asheville Roberson 12, Gastonia Ashbrook 0

Belmont Cramer 48, Bessemer City 28

Belmont South Point 48, East Gaston 6

Boonville Starmount 65, Davidson Community School 53

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Catholic High School of Va Beach, Va. 20, Kill Devil Hills First Flight 11

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Jacksonville 38, Jacksonville White Oak 6

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Dan Spears is the N.C. state high school sports editor for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at dspears@gannett.com or on Twitter @DanSpears.

SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — Every Monday Port City Daily will share upcoming government meetings around the tri-county region. If there’s an item of public interest, we’ll include that below the listed meeting, too.

Tuesday, September 6

New Hanover County School Board will meet at 5 p.m. at the Board of Education Center at 1805 South 13th Street. The meeting can be live streamed on YouTube. The agenda includes:

The Kure Beach Bike/Ped Committee will meet at 3 p.m. in Town Hall at 117 Settlers Lane. An agenda was not posted as of press.

The Pender County Board of Commissioners will meet at 4 p.m. at the public assembly room, 805 S. Walker St. in Burgaw. The meeting can be livestreamed here. A few items on the agenda include:

The Surf City Town Council will meet at 4:30 p.m. at the municipal complex, 214 W. Florence Way. The meeting can be livestreamed on YouTube. The agenda includes a resolution for the stormwater enterprise fund.

The Town of Topsail Beach Parks and Recreation Committee will meet at 10 a.m. at town hall, 820 S. Anderson Blvd. The meeting can be livestreamed online. The agenda includes:

The Southport Board of Aldermen will hold a special meeting at 10 a.m. in the Indian Trail Meeting Hall at 113 W. Moore St. to review the city’s exterior lighting amendment. Meetings can be live streamed here.

The Wrightsville Beach Planning Board meets at 5:30 p.m. in Wrightsville Beach Town Hall council chambers, 321 Causeway Dr. An agenda was not posed as of press

The Wilmington City Council will hold an agenda briefing at 8:30 a.m. at city hall, 102 North 3rd St. and meet at 6:30 p.m. The meeting can be livestreamed on GTV8 and YouTube. A few items on the agenda include:

The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners will meet at 4 p.m. at the New Hanover County Historic Courthouse, 24 North 3rd St. The meeting can be livestreamed on the county website, on NHCTV or on YouTube. A few items on the agenda include:

The Brunswick County Board of Education will meet at 6 p.m. in Conference Room of the Center of Applied Sciences and Technology (The COAST), 1109 Old Ocean Hwy, Bolivia, North Carolina. The meeting can be live streamed here. The agenda includes:

The Brunswick County Commissioners will meet at 3 p.m. in commissioner chambers at the Sandifer Administration Building at 30 Government Center Drive in Bolivia, North Carolina. A few items on the agenda include:

Village of Bald Head Island is holding a special meeting, Tues., Sept. 6, 10 a.m., in the Multipurpose Room of the Department of Public Safety Building, 273 Edward Teach Extension. Members will consider amending the Gateway Area Master Plan Proposal to include additional scope of services, conduct a public hearing on and consider an ordinance to extend the commercial development moratorium adopted June 30, 2022, and then move into closed session.

Comments can be submitted ahead of time to village.clerk@villagebhi.org, by 5 p.m., Sept. 5. Members of the public can access live audio of the special meeting via Zoom.

Wednesday, September 7

The Kure Beach Planning Commission will meet at 6 p.m. in Town Hall at 117 Settlers Lane. An agenda was not posted as of press.

The Oak Island Planning Board will hold a special meeting to discuss the town’s UDO audit at 10 a.m. at 4601 East Oak Island Dr. Meetings are live streamed here.

The Southport Board of Aldermen will hold a closed session at 2 p.m. in the Indian Trail Meeting Hall at 113 W. Moore St. to review the proposed Project Indigo development agreement. Meetings can be live streamed here.

The Town of Burgaw Beautification Committee will meet at 8:30 a.m. at the Historic Train Depot, 115 S. Dickerson St.

The Pender County Planning Board will meet at 7 p.m. at the public assembly room, 805 S. Walker St. in Burgaw. The meeting can be livestreamed here. An agenda was not posted by press.

The Town of North Topsail Beach Board of Aldermen will meet at 11 a.m. at Town Hall, 2008 Loggerhead Court. The meeting can be livestreamed on its website. The agenda includes:

The New Hanover County Airport Authority will meet at 5 p.m. at the terminal, 1740 Airport Blvd. The agenda includes:

The Wilmington Planning Commission will meet at 6:30 p.m. at city hall, 102 North 3rd St. The meeting can be livestreamed on GTV8 and YouTube. The agenda includes:

Thursday, September 8

The Wrightsville Beach Board of Aldermen meets at 5:30 p.m. at Wrightsville Beach Town Hall Council Chambers, 321 Causeway Dr. An agenda was not posed as of press.

The Carolina Beach Planning Board will meet at 6 p.m. in council chambers, 1121 N. Lake Park Blvd, Carolina Beach. The meeting can be live streamed on YouTube. An agenda was not posted as of press.

The Southport Board of Aldermen will hold a regular meeting at 6 p.m. in the Southport Community Building at 223 E. Bay St. Meetings can be live streamed here. The agenda includes:

The Surf City Planning Board will meet at 4 p.m. at the municipal complex, 214 W. Florence Way.

The Wilmington Historic Preservation Commission will meet at 5:30 p.m. at city hall, 102 North 3rd St. The meeting can be livestreamed on GTV8 and YouTube. The agenda includes:

The Leland Economic Development Committee will meet at 6 p.m. in Town Hall at 102 Town Hall Drive. The meetings are live streamed here. The agenda can be viewed here.

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A former NASCAR CEO is revving up the chicken sandwich competition in Bojangles’ hometown with the debut of Summerbird in Charlotte.

Brian France and his investment company Silver Falcon Capital are behind the latest fast-casual restaurant opening Monday in South End at 1422 S. Tryon St. Summerbird joins other retailers like Stir, North Italia and Rhino Market & Deli at the mixed-use development The RailYard.

Summerbird hopes to lap the competition by combining a menu of “indulgent” fried chicken sandwiches and “healthy” salads, France and managing partner Austin Tate told The Charlotte Observer Wednesday in an exclusive.

In Charlotte, the chicken sandwich field is tight. Along with the iconic chicken-and-biscuit chain Bojangles, newcomers Slim Chickens, Dave’s Hot Chicken and Harold’s Chicken & Ice Bar join others like Chick-fil-A expanding in the region.

“There are a lot of chicken places out there. A lot of salad places out there. Our big focus in this was trying to marry the two,” Tate said.

But Summerbird plans to go beyond the menu, building fans by creating an ”elevated” fast-casual experience, France said.

“There will be somebody going by your table to ask if we can get you something else and not just asking you how your food was,” he said.

In keeping with the summer theme, Summerbird has an indoor swing set, some swing seats on the patio and decorative nods like a diving board repurposed as shelving for takeout orders.

“We wanted somewhere (that) felt like you were having a backyard barbecue with your friends that harkened to nostalgia and the old days of summer,” Tate said.

Summerbird’s menu includes Southern classic fried chicken sandwiches and modern salads with mixed greens.

There are four types. They include the Summerbird, a crispy chicken sandwich with pickle and backyard sauce on a brioche bun, and the Sweet Carolina with pimento cheese, pepper jelly, pickled red onion and backyard sauce.

The other two sandwiches are the Calibird, a grilled chicken with avocado ranch, and Firebird, a chili-glazed chicken with chipotle mayo.

There also are four salads with mixed greens like the Sun-Kissed Kale topped with citrus dressing.

Rounding out the menu are chicken tenders, two snacks (pimento cheese and crackers or french dip and chips) and sides from homemade macaroni and cheese and butternut squash to roasted vegetable salad and Southern street corn.

For dessert, there are milkshakes, floats, soft-serve ice cream, or chocolate chip or sugar cookies.

The restaurant space is about 2,900-square-feet with seating for 70, plus a rolling garage door out to the patio space that seats about 30 people, Tate said. Lots of greenery inside and out gives it a backyard atmosphere.

Summerbird expects to hire up to 40 full- and part-time employees.

Hours will be 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday.

Summerbird is the first restaurant operated by Silver Falcon Capital. However, the Charlotte-based company partners with several other restaurants in California and Florida.

And, France and Tate are already making plans to expand within the city’s limits and across the country. Negotiations for more locations are already underway along the Interstate 85 corridor in the Charlotte region, Tate said.

“We’ll have a couple more stores up within the next 12 to 18 months here in Charlotte,” France said. “We’re just getting started.”

France started Silver Falcon Capital investment company after leaving the family business NASCAR, which was co-founded by grandfather Bill France Sr. and uncle Jim France in 1948.

Brian France followed his father, Bill France Jr., as CEO from 2003 until 2018, when he was publicly ousted.

Brian France is credited with leading the transformation of NASCAR as a regional sport into the multi-billion dollar global sports entertainment powerhouse.

France’s investment company helps entrepreneurs, including four restaurants in Florida and California, as well as sports businesses Motorsport Games and ISC.

France said he’s found similarities between operating a restaurant and running NASCAR, including facing competition.

“Bringing that all home for people, entertaining them, satisfying them, it’s all relatively the same thing,” France said.

Summerbird competition comes from other chicken sandwich chains in the Charlotte region in Bojangles’ hometown turf.

In March, Arkansas-based Slim Chickens made its North Carolina debut opening its first Charlotte store in the University City area. The fast-casual chain plans to open another 14 locations in North Carolina and South Carolina, including Indian Trail and Concord.

West Coast-based Dave’s Hot Chicken is planning to open 12 fast-casual franchise locations in Charlotte.

Bojangles, founded in Charlotte in 1977, has been expanding, too, with a drive-thru-only site at 3809 E. Independence Blvd. and another store at 300 West Ave., The Charlotte Observer previously reported. The chicken-and-biscuit chain also has opened or plans to open nearly 130 stores with debuts in Ohio, New York, Texas, Illinois and Arkansas over the past two years. Plus, Bojangles’ expansion includes 40 restaurant openings at Love’s Travel Stops.

Chick-fil-A recently opened a new Gaston County in Gastonia on Cox Road after closing its Franklin Square store. Last July, a store opened in Belmont at 925 South Point Road and in October, Chick-fil-A opened a store at 7404 Matthews Mint Hill Road in Mint Hill. The Atlanta-based fast-food chicken chain also reopened its renovated East Woodlawn Avenue as drive-thru-only site.

This story was originally published August 26, 2022 6:00 AM.