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Roster Of New Restaurants Adds Zaxby's

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By GEORGE WILKENS gwilkens@tampatrib.com

Published: October 29, 2008

PLANT CITY - University of Florida fans, particularly those who remember the 1996 national championship team, may have another reason to eat at a new restaurant.

Former Gators cornerback Anthone Lott is part of a three-man partnership about to open a local franchise of Zaxby's, a quick-casual restaurant specializing in chicken, sandwiches and salads.

The 3,500-square-foot restaurant nearing completion at 29011/2 James L. Redman Parkway will be the second in Hillsborough County for the Athens, Ga.-based chain, which has 445 locations in 12 states.

Lott played for the Gators from 1993 to 1996, the last year of which saw the team win the national championship.

"I was part of the really, really good years, when we won the SEC Southeastern Conference finals every year," he said.

It was during his college days in Gainesville that he discovered Zaxby's.

"I used to always eat at that place; it was the best food in the area," he said. "I'm a big fan of eating healthy food," so Zaxby's "was right up my alley," he said, citing favorites that include the chain's salads, chicken tenders and buffalo wings.

Lott and business partners Robert Blalock and Michael Brody, his neighbors in Westchase in the Tampa area, were seeking an entrepreneurial opportunity in the area. They explored Zaxby's based on the recommendation of one of Blalock's former fraternity brothers, who owns five of the franchises in Atlanta.

"We picked his brain," Lott said, "and really fell in love with the concept," deciding it was something they would bring to the area.

"This will be our first one, but we plan to open several more in the Hillsborough County area," Lott added.

Zaxby's bills itself as quick-casual. Customers order at the counter and pick up their prepared-to-order food when summoned. The "Zappetizers" portion of the menu includes onion rings, tater chips and fried mushrooms. Sandwiches include a Cajun club and chicken salad.

The first Zaxby's opened in Statesboro, Ga., near the Georgia Southern University campus in March 1990. By July 2001, there were 100 locations, and in October, the chain opened its 400th restaurant in Macon, Ga.

The colorful interior decor will include memorabilia and signage representative of the community. That, of course, will include some Gators items, but also things representative of local high school teams and Plant City's history, said the 34-year-old Lott, an insurance agent.

The Plant City Zaxby's is scheduled to open in early to mid-November.

"But I think we'll beat that target date," said Lott, who briefly played for the Cincinnati Bengals and Indianapolis Colts.

Reporter George Wilkens can be reached at (813) 865-4433.

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