Olive Garden in Athens: City Council approved incentives for restaurant

Athens is going to have its first Olive Garden restaurant soon. Last week, The Athens City Council approved an incentives package for the Orlando-based Italian restaurant chain, which is expected to bring dozens of new jobs to the city.

New Olive Garden in Athens

Here’s what we know about the new Olive Garden in Athens:

• The restaurant location will be Athens-Limestone Boulevard near U.S. 72 and Interstate 65.
• The project will be a $6.5-million investment and expects to create 80 new jobs.
• It is expected to generate annual taxable sales of approximately $4.5 million.
• The Athens City Council approved an incentive based on sales tax generated by the restaurant.

The City will annually pay the company in arrears 100% of the proceeds from the City’s sales tax actually received by the City, minus certain costs, for a period of six years or until $600,000 is paid, whichever comes first. This is contingent on Olive Garden opening and continuing operation by certain dates.

“As our city continues to grow, we also have to grow our sales tax base in order to fund services such as first response, recreation, paving and sanitation. Sales tax makes up more than 40% of our budget, so retail investment – from national chains like Olive Garden to mom-and-pop shops and restaurants on The Square – are vital to our local economy.”

Mayor Ronnie Marks

An opening date or construction timeline has not been announced.

The retail and service industries are really growing in Athens. Recently, ground was broken on The Shoppes at Piney Creek, and Gov. Kay Ivey issued a grant to the City of Athens for infrastructure improvements surrounding French Mill Crossing, a Publix-anchored shopping center under construction on a 12-acre site southeast of the Mooresville Road and U.S. Highway 72 intersection.

Want more content like this? Follow Hville Blast on Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, and be sure to subscribe to our newsletter.