This week's Business Pulse sees one business on the move, one celebrating an anniversary and one changing hands. Let's dig in.

Old Regions Bank bringing

in the dough

Ever since Regions Bank closed its location at 1200 Smithville Highway in the Plaza Shopping Center on July 16, 2020, speculation has run rampant over what would be taking its place. It’s been a (foot)long journey, but the former bank between Walgreens and Krystal is soon to open again.

Subway is not just a form of transportation, it’s a pretty tasty sandwich shop. McMinnville’s Subway will soon be transporting itself just a little bit north up Smithville Highway.

Now, the state of Subways in Warren County has been in a bit of flux lately, so you can be forgiven if you may have lost track, but I’m hear to clear up the confusion.

There will be two Subways in Warren County. One is across the highway from Country Club Market. The Subway that was located near the hospital has closed and has become a convenience store.

It can be a bit confusing to passers-by because the Subway sign is still there and glowing above the store, but that sign will be coming down as the newly relocated Subway gets its new sign. It’s a move planned to eliminate extra trips for the Subway sign folks.

The county’s second Subway is the one formerly located next to Ace Hardware which closed Thursday afternoon and will reopen in the former Regions building.

According to manager  April Mendoza, the move should take place within the next two weeks.

“Right now, we're waiting on the drive-thru menu board to arrive and get set up and then we’ll be moving straight there,” April said.

That’s right, the new Subway will have a drive-thru and will also feature mobile ordering and curbside pickup. Another benefit of the move is more ample parking.

“I’ve been in the current building for 21 years and I’m really excited about this move. Everything is new and it’s beautiful,” Mendoza said.

Personally, I’m only disappointed that the new drive thru won’t make use of the bank’s old pneumatic tubes. Honestly, is there a more perfect food to be delivered by bank tube than a Subway sandwich?

Nevertheless, a shiny new Subway bringing life back to a once-vital building on Smithville Highway sounds like a good thing, and the mystery of what will be filling that spot has been put to rest.

Now it’s time to start up the rumor mill on what will occupy the former Subway building at 612 N. Chancery St. That’s the exciting thing about reporting on Warren County business; there’s always another mystery.

Bank is golden

Citizens Tri-County Bank is celebrating its golden anniversary. Organized in 1972 as Citizens Bank, it began with $500,000 in capital and operated in a trailer at the bank's current main office location in Dunlap.

Citizens Tri-County Bank expanded into Warren County with its purchase of Cumberland Bank in 2005. Shane Brock, vice president of Citizens Tri-County Bank's Warren County locations, joined the company in 2008. In December 2015, the bank expanded into Morrison with the purchase of Berkshire Bank. There are now four locations in the county: Mt. Leo, Main Street, Morrison and the Plaza Shopping Center.

"On Oct. 8, we'll have a large celebration at our headquarters in Dunlap. We'd like to invite anyone in our communities to come. We'll have multiple speakers,  door prizes and free food. Local food vendors from our markets will be set up there and we encourage everyone to come out and take a day to celebrate with us," Brock said.

"We're grateful to Warren County - our business customers, our consumer customers - it's been a fantastic 18 years and we thank all of our customers who have helped us grow and succeed all across our footprint." Brock added, "I'd also like to thank our tremendous staff here in Warren County that works hard to take care of our customers and we're just grateful for the opportunity to be part of this community," 

Today, Citizens Tri-County Bank is a $1.064 billion bank, operating in nine Tennessee counties with 315 employees, 20 full-service offices, five satellite offices and 36 ATMs. The bank also offers internet banking and mobile banking with remote deposit. 

The 50th Golden Anniversary Celebration will be 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Oct. 8 at the Dunlap office at 15699 Rankin Avenue.

Morrison Hardware changing hands

A hub of activity in the Morrison business community has changed owners. After six and a half years running Morrison Hardware, Dwayne and Bernadette Doud and their GM Jason Heath are handing the reins to Chuck and Leslie King. 

Chuck and Leslie took over the venerable establishment Saturday. In a statement, Dwayne and Bernadette said, "We would like to thank all our customers for the last six and a half years. It has been enjoyable serving our community, but (Friday) was our last day owning (Morrison Hardware). We'd like to say thank you to everyone for your years of support and your trust in us from the very beginning"

Jason is scheduled to stay on for the next 60 days to help make the transition as smooth as possible. Dwayne and Bernadette will be expanding their other business, the Detention, and bringing Jason on as the general manager at the popular arcade.

Look for more on the new Morrison Hardware owners in a future Business Pulse. 

New business gets

new menu

Fazoli's, at 814 Smithville Hwy., is still pretty new to town, having opened Feb. 21, but it's refreshing its  menu by adding new items and welcoming the return of some old favorites.

Bill Townsend, owner of the local Fazoli's, is pleased to announce the new selections and invites Warren County residents to come discover a new favorite. 

One item making a limited-time return is the Pizza Baked Spaghetti, a dish featuring spaghetti topped with Fazoli’s special pizza bake sauce, smothered in mozzarella and provolone cheeses and baked with savory pepperoni.

Also returning is the Cheesy Double Stack Lasagna. Once a limited-time offer, it's now a permanent menu item. It features 18 layers of pasta with ricotta, meat sauce, mozzarella and provolone. That's a lot of lasagna. 

For the fall, Fazoli's is introducing a pair of desserts. 

Available until Thanksgiving, the Pumpkin Cheesecake with a graham cracker crust is drizzled with Ghirardelli's Salted Caramel Sauce. After Thanksgiving, the Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cheesecake will be  available. It's a triple-chocolate cheesecake topped with Andes peppermint crunch chips and chocolate sauce. 

So, if you're looking to try something new, Fazoli's has you covered.

Until next time,

same biz time,

same biz page

Keep the business news coming to editor@southernstandard.com or give me a call at (931) 473-2191.