There’s been a new turn in the much-anticipated redevelopment of Ingles’ super market site in Waynesville: Chick-fil-A has joined the party.

Ingles’ site development plans on file with the town of Waynesville have been updated recently to include a Chick-fil-A fronting Russ Avenue. It will occupy the vacant parcel beside Home Trust Bank and roughly across the street from McDonald’s.

The new wastewater treatment facility in Franklin cost the town more than $5 million to build, but within months of its summer 2013 opening, superintendent Wayne Price noticed a problem. 

“Within six months of putting that into operation, we had fats build up on the walls,” Price said. “It was already getting 2 inches, 3 or 4 inches of fat all around, and there’s no way for us to treat it. We had to do something.”

There’s nothing Adam Bigelow likes better than a full tank of gas in the summertime with an open road ahead. After all, the drive from Sylva to Cashiers, where he works three days a week, is a beautiful, twisting mountain route that’s great for someone who wants to put their steering skills to the test. 

But Bigelow’s feel-good mood comes more from the contents of his tank than the places it’s getting him. He’s been driving a car powered by veggie oil for years, and he’s got nothing but good things to say about it. 

The ocean is a long way from Rick Miller’s kitchen. The kitchen is a long way from where his journey began.

“Back then I wanted to be a marine biologist,” the 61-year-old smiled. “And I can still give all the Latin names to the fish.”

SEE ALSO: Mélange of the Mountains returns to Haywood County

If someone had told me 30 years ago that someday I’d be sentimental about a Shoney’s restaurant closing down, I would have laughed out loud and accused them of being delusional. I guess I’ve always had a soft spot for their potato soup and hot fudge cakes, which I used to order as a kid when my parents took us there on infrequent trips out of town, but it is nothing I’d ever get misty-eyed over, anymore than I would over a three-piece original recipe chicken plate from Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Then again, 30 years ago, I could not have foreseen the unlikely role Shoney’s would wind up playing in my family history. Not just any Shoney’s, but this particular Shoney’s, sitting high on its perch in Waynesville like an enormous neon bird watching over the bustling traffic on U.S. 23-74 while keeping one wary eye on Lowe’s across the way.

By Jake Flannick • SMN Correspondent

The legendary Rathskeller Coffee Haus and Pub, an institution and social mainstay in downtown Franklin, saw a generational changing of the guard this year after 15 years in the hands of its original founder and owner.

By Paul Clark • Correspondent

In the old Imperial Hotel in Canton, Sid’s on Main is creating a little history of its own. 

Sid Truesdale, who owns the restaurant with his wife Page, is honoring the building’s place in local history by putting pecan pie on the menu. The original restaurant, which fed workers and executives at the then-new Champion paper plant nearby, served pecan pie, as well as the drop biscuits that Sid also offers.

Haywood County residents won’t be down a Burger King when the state Department of Transportation starts its major reconstruction of the Lowe’s interchange.

The feeling of a new customer walking through the door never gets old for Haley Milner.

The new owners of the iconic Lulu’s on Main restaurant in downtown Sylva are dedicated to keeping around the diner’s favorite menu items, but they’re also looking forward to adding some of their own.