And we don’t mean the one on Broad Street in the West Broad Market shopping center: That one’s been running about nine months behind with construction issues. Owner Chris Hart says that it should be open in about a month (health inspection is completed, hiring is about to start, interior is almost finished).
The second Athens location will be on Oak Street, the chunk of road that changes its name from Oconee as you cross the river (until it becomes Lexington Road a short while later), in the old Church’s Chicken building. Most recently Lickin’ Chicken, it comes already equipped with a drive-through, but the best part about the new business is Hart’s plans to tie it into the Firefly Trail, which runs behind the property. Hart says that building had “been on our radar for a while now, and when the opportunity came up, we couldn’t resist.” He’s working with the Athens-Clarke County government to “tie it into the flow of the greenway as cohesively as possible.”
“We’re discussing a large outdoor covered (all season) patio with lots of seating [plus] an outdoor bar on the patio as well. The vision is to provide some really top notch outdoor seating and counter service to complement the greenway and bolster the neighborhood. I think we’re doing enough different things, as far as our scope of service goes, that it’ll be nice to have the coffee/donut/brekky thing going in the morning and then have some afternoon and dinner service happening for the neighborhood as well. Plus, it’s going to be a blast to be able to interact with the greenway like that. So much fun to be had.”
When can you expect this new Cafe Racer? Not until the West Broad location is up and running, so probably end of 2023 in a best case scenario.
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