Council Weighing Deal to Bring New Jack’s Restaurant to West Tuscaloosa

Elected officials are weighing a request to incentivize the construction of a new Jack's Family Restaurant in west Tuscaloosa.

The city council discussed the issue at length during a Finance Committee meeting on November 18th, and when the same body met this Tuesday, they voted to refer the incentive request to the whole council for a vote at their next meeting.

Jimmy Avery, the Vice President of Development for Jack's Family Restaurants, said the proposed restaurant would be built on the site of a former gas station on the southeast corner of Joe Mallisham Parkway and Highway 11.

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Avery told the Finance Committee that Jack's is excited to add its sixth location in the area, but construction at the former service station will require significant, expensive site work. To help offset those costs, Jack's is asking the city to reimburse the sales tax they pay during the restaurant's first year of operation.

The site is in Tuscaloosa's District 1, where City Councilman Joe Eatmon is advocating for the tax incentive.

"Certain areas of town, and this particular area, have not seen any growth in a very long time," Eatmon told the committee last month. "We've got a restaurant that's interested in developing that area, which is now rapidly growing, with DHR and Black Warrior Tire Shop going right there, and I think Jack's would be a great addition to that area."

Avery said the proposed Jack's will be 3,600 square feet and feature 68 seats inside and 40 parking spaces outside. They expect site work and construction to cost roughly $3 million. 

The proposed incentive, made possible by Alabama's Amendment 772, would reimburse Jack's for the first year of sales tax the new restaurant pays the city. After 12 months, the agreement would expire, and the new business would operate like any other in the city.

After the November meeting, the proposal returned to the Finance Committee on Tuesday, and they voted to forward it to the full council at their next meeting.

For coverage of that decision when the vote comes and of other restaurant and retail development news, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.