An Olive Garden restaurant in Chillicothe may be open for business by Christmas.

Construction of the restaurant on the northeast corner of Seney and North Bridge Street is expected to begin in June or July.

The tentative opening is scheduled for December or January, said Mara Frazier, a spokesperson for Olive Garden.
“We have finalized it, so we are, in fact, coming,” Frazier said. “It’s going to be built in our Tuscan farmhouse design, but as far as seating and details like that, we haven’t finalized those plans.”

Frazier said the Tuscan Farmhouse design is crafted after the Olive Garden Culinary Institute. Restaurants built after February 2000 are modeled after the Farmhouse. The location will be on land acquired from Chillicothe Realtor Steve Madru and Ross County Commissioner Frank Hirsch. Although the deal is final, some details are still being worked out, Madru said.

“We’re still waiting on a final approval for details we need to work out, but it’s pretty close,” Madru said. “They sent some people down to do a survey to find if there are any issues with the environment.”

source : www.chillicothegazette.com By LOREN GENSON