Staff reports

Construction on Selma’s first Zaxby’s continues on Highland Avenue.

Licensees and father-and-daughter team Jana and Howard Burke and the store’s general manger, Lynnette Blevins, will introduce the restaurant to the public in a few months.

The Burkes have more than 20 years of experience in the restaurant industry and decided to become involved with Zaxby’s because they loved the unique taste of the food and the structured business model. 

The success of their first Zaxby’s restaurant, which opened in September 2005 in Tuscaloosa, motivated them to open their second location in Northport last year.  Now the pair is set to open two more by year’s end, this new one in Selma, and another in Northport.

The new location of the restaurant, which features chicken fingers and Buffalo wings, will provide 40 to 50 jobs in Selma. The positions will consist primarily of cooks and cashiers. Candidates may apply for jobs in person at the new restaurant at 618 Highland Avenue.

“I am so happy that we have the opportunity to bring Zaxby’s to my hometown’s residents,” said Blevins. “I look forward to furthering my involvement within the community as a good neighbor and business partner.”

A Dallas County native, Blevins also has 20 years of experience in the restaurant industry, and 15 of those have been spent working with the Burkes in various restaurant management positions.

At the new restaurant, customers will place their orders at the counter, and will be called to pick up their prepared-at-order meals when they are ready.  The new 3,720-square-foot location will seat 104 in Zaxby’s unique design &045; a bright, open interior d&cor complemented by vintage memorabilia and signage.  Zaxby’s will also offer drive-thru services to meet the needs of customers on the go.

The new location is the first for Dallas County and the 44th for the state.