Gadsden City Council approved resolutions authorizing project development agreements with Rural King, 7 Brew and Zaxby’s at the city council meeting on Tuesday.
Rural King is a farm and home store that got its start in Mattoon, Illinois in 1960. Since then, the brand has extended its reach into thirteen states with over 130 stores.
The store will be located in the old Midtown Gregerson’s shopping center and will employ 90 full-time employees.
Negotiations with the company have been in the works for about a year, according to John Moore, Gadsden’s director of commercial development and community affairs. The city settled on giving Rural King a tax abatement of $7.7 million across 15 years.
“I think the city is really excited about the location of where they chose, because it was in such a blotted area and to see that shopping center come back to life with a $12 million dollar renovation was important to us,” Moore said. “The location, with it being agriculture, and being in direct line with Cherokee County and the Centre area, where there are a lot of agricultural jobs up through there, we feel like it will really target that Cherokee County and Calhoun County area.”
The company will spend an estimated $12 million in renovations on the property prior to opening and will contribute an estimated $15 to $20 million in sales tax revenue per year.
“This is just another example of why Gadsden is the fastest growing city in Etowah County,” Moore said. “And I think businesses are starting to realize that.”
7 Brew is a drive through coffee chain which originated in Rogers, Arizona in 2017. The company started with seven original coffees and has expanded its menu to include energy drinks, sparkling water, teas, lemonades, smoothies and shakes.
The city will grant a two percent rebate of the city’s five percent sales tax proceeds for a period of five years, or until a total of $200,000 has been paid, according to Kent Back, Gadsden council president.
7 Brew will be located in the old Shoney’s building, located at 202 East Meighan.
The new Zaxby’s will be located at 900 Gilbert Ferry Road Southeast next to the Starbucks.
“Some one asked me about Attalla and Gadsden being rivals, but we are not,” Mayor Craig Ford said. “Just so they know, studies are showing the more traffic you bring into an area, no matter if we have more commercial development or they have more commercial development, that means more people will come to that area to spend their dollars. Not only is it good for Gadsden, it’s good for Attalla, and when Attalla does something it’s good for Gadsden.”
Also in the meeting, Ford said they are in talks regarding the Goodyear plant, which is currently owned by Phoenix Investors, a commercial real estate firm, to bring business back to the site.
“I want the people to know that we are actively recruiting with [Industrial Development Agency] and David Hooks,” Ford said. “We have made trips to see the people, they have come to see us four to five times. We are hoping to have something to announce at the Goodyear plant.”
Three non-disclosure agreements have been signed by Ford from different companies, one of which he said is a “big home run” if it comes to Gadsden. He said it is in the next to last step to get the company here.
