By Sharon Still
The one-acre property on the southwest corner of U.S. Hwy. 301 and Big Bend Rd. in front of Sam’s Club and adjacent to Walgreen’s will soon be a new PDQ Chicken. Construction started in early May on the stand-alone building with an anticipated opening date for the 4,800-sq.-ft. restaurant in mid-to-late August.
PDQ, which stands for People Dedicated to Quality, is a fast, casual restaurant specializing in fresh hand-battered chicken tenders, made-to-order sandwiches, daily cut fries, hand-spun milkshakes and fresh salads.
“Everything is made in-house, from scratch,” said Operating Director Mickey Chard, adding that there are no microwaves or freezers in PDQ stores.
He explained that the chicken is hand-breaded, the sauces are made from scratch and the french fries are hand cut every day.
Chard said, “PDQ’s concept is fresh food, fast. We offer a good healthy option quickly.”
Former Outback Steakhouse co-founder Bob Basham and MVP Holdings CEO Nick Reader are the two principal owners of PDQ. After spending two years developing the concept behind the brand and the quality of food and establishments, the original PDQ restaurant opened in Tampa on October 30, 2011. There are now PDQ Chicken locations throughout Florida, in Alabama and North Carolina. A rapid expansion is now underway with plans to have a total of 50 stores by the end of 2014.
The Riverview location is a joint venture between Debartolo Development and MVP Holdings, the owner of PDQ. The Miken Corporation is doing the construction
Chard has more than 20 years in the restaurant industry, most recently as the Operating Director at Bonefish Grill in Sarasota for four plus years. He moved to Riverview about a month ago to be close to the new PDQ chicken.
On Monday, June 16 there will be a trailer on-site taking employment applications.
Store hours will be 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m., seven days a week. The phone number will be 864-8006 and in the meantime, anyone interested can check out the restaurant’s progress on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pdqriverview.
