TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — New restaurants are moving into Tallahassee with a focus on serving more than just food. In addition, a Tallahassee staple is setting up shop in a new location.
“We are looking forward to being part of this community,” said Timothy McGrew. He is no stranger to Tallahassee. “I met my wife here. We have family. Her parents live here.”
An Army Veteran, McGrew moved away for a while. “This is coming home to where we’re with family.”
Now, he is back, and he is opening what will be Tallahassee’s first Duck Donuts in a plaza off Thomasville Road.
It’s a franchise that started in the Outer Banks of North Carolina in 2007. Today, McGrew is working to bring the flavors of this concept to the capital city. “I went to school at FSU through the hospitality administration program,” McGrew added.
A few doors down, a Tallahassee staple is setting up shop in a new location.
“This is kind of close to a lot of my clients,” explained Kent Steels. He is working to open the new location for Clusters & Hops. The wine & gourmet cheese shop had called North Monroe Street home for more than 22 years.
“It was a nice living,” Steels said. “Working that parking lot was tricky. They always say location, location, location.” Now, he says he is hoping customers old and new will make the most of more parking in this new space. Both Steels and McGrew worked with NAI TalCor to set up their new locations.
“The market’s been on a good run over the last many years. The place has grown. You can just ride around and see that,” said Ed Murray, president of the real estate firm.
While he helps businesses find new locations, he’s anticipating challenges for the new year ahead. “With the effects of inflation, rising interest rates and less consumer confidence than what we used to have, the market is starting to cool down a little.”
Those concerns aren’t holding back another restaurant from going up across town. Raising Cane’s is raising walls here along West Tennessee Street.
“It’s been a long journey for us,” shared Dustin Shearer, vice president of company restaurants. He’s overseeing the expansion taking place across Florida right now.
They expect to hire dozens of people for this site alone. “We’re looking for 12 managers, which is huge for us. We’re expecting to be pretty busy. We’re also going to be hiring about 150 crew members.”
McGrew said he hopes to open Duck as early as possible in the second half of next year. Raising Cane’s confirmed that it will open April 13, 2023.
Steels said he hopes to open up by the end of this year.
Editor's Note: This story was updated to reflect the opening day of Raising Cane's.
