BURLINGTON, N.C. — Zack's Hot Dogs confirmed it will open a third location later this year. The owner said they plan to move into the old Steak-n-Shake building on Garden Road in Burlington. This location will be in addition to the decades-old location on Davis Street and an upcoming location inside Holly Hill Mall.
The owner told WFMY News 2 that they will close on the deal for the property on Monday. They plan to open the restaurant in five to six weeks, but a specific opening date was not given.
Zack's Hot Dogs' owner also confirmed it originally planned to put a third location at a property on S. Church Street in Burlington. The building used to be a bank. The property needed to be rezoned in order to operate a drive-thru.
Burlington City Council passed the rezoning measure on Tuesday night, but the owner of Zack's Hot Dogs said they will not move into the location. He said the process took too long and they looked elsewhere. An opportunity at the Garden Road location opened up and they took it.
The owner said they will look to sell the property on S. Church Street. He said they already have an offer, but it's unclear if or when a deal could go through.
The new ownership in charge of Zack's appears to be committed to far more expansion than the restaurant's previous owners. The Touloupas family had owned the restaurant for 94 years and operated the business on W. Davis Street since 1977. They sold the restaurant in May 2022.
The expansion also includes a new location inside Holly Hill Mall. The mall's owner told WFMY News 2 that Zack's signed a long term lease in early 2022. They will move into the old Chick-fil-A location inside the mall.
Renovations are under way. Tables, chairs and signs are already visible at the location. The mall and the restaurant have not said when exactly the location will open, but they expect it to start serving customers later this year.