https://www.thedailyjournal.com/story/news/2018/06/06/checkers-restaurant-take-goldencorral-site-delsea-drive-vineland/677825002/ Checkers to take over Golden Corral site in Vineland INELAND The recently closed Golden Corral restaurant will be demolished to make way for a fast food business Checkers Drive-In restaurant. The retro-looking Checkers will bring 20 to 25 jobs to Vineland along with its signature fries, burgers and hot dogs and its newly introduced slushies and limited edition funnel cake fries. A Checkers & Rally's, Inc., executive disclosed the new site Wednesday along with another in Pennsauken as part of a major statewide expansion of the national chain for New Jersey. "The plan is for the Golden Corral to be scrapped and a new modular put in its place. We anticipate an October opening," said Bruce Kim, the Tampa-based chain's franchise development director. The target opening for the Pennsauken site at Route 130 and Marlton Pike is a month earlier in September. Sandra Forosisky, Vineland's economic development director, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. More: Golden Corral restaurant in Vineland closes More: Work on $25 million CCTEC expansion slated for fall The franchise-driven Checkers has had its sights on Vineland for more than a decade. In 2006, the city planning board approved a shopping center proposal at the southwest corner of College and Delsea drives that would have been known as Vineland Marketplace. The proposed tenants included Checkers, Golden Corral and Chick-fil-A restaurants, as well as an Office Depot.

After the Vineland Marketplace project died, Golden Corral was constructed on Delsea Drive and Chick-fil-A was built at Cumberland Mall on the site of a former Burger King. The buffet-style, family-oriented Golden Corral opened amid great anticipation on Oct. 19, 2011 five years after city planning officials approved its construction and during a national recession that delayed its arrival by several years. This Checkers drive-in on the White Horse Pike and Laurel Road in Stratford opened in 2015. (Photo: Courier-Post Photo by JOHN ZIOMEK) Checkers' corporate plan for New Jersey calls for more than 60 franchise locations an addition of roughly 50 sites with 20 to 25 employees per site. "We are a value brand business growing nationally in major metropolitan areas and have a loyal customer base, but we have only 13 stores in New Jersey out of 875 nationwide," he said. "We anticipate reaching more than 60 within five to seven years."

Between 20 and 25 employees will be hired for shift work at each site depending on size and sales volume of the location, Kim added, with hiring to begin about 60 days before opening. Applicants may apply at http://checkerscareers.com/restaurant_opportunities Easily recognized by the red, white and black checkered exterior of its buildings, Checkers & Rally's is one of the largest U.S. chains of double drive-thru restaurants and operates in 28 states and Washington, D.C., according to its website. Current South Jersey locations include: Route 541 in Burlington Township; Mount Ephraim Avenue in Camden; South White Horse Pike in Stratford; Fort Dix Road in Wrightstown; and Delsea Drive in Glassboro. Toms River also has a Checkers. "We are also talking to several qualified franchise prospects for other sites in southern New Jersey," Kim said. A sign taped to the door announces the closure of Golden Corral in Vineland. (Photo: Jason Alt/Staff Photo) Demolition of the Golden Corral at 3624 S. Delsea Drive has not begun, but it is already underway at the Pennsauken site. The now-gutted building there is the former home of

Pennsauken Check Cashing, which moved a few months ago 1,500 feet up the highway to 6325 S. Crescent Blvd. The only notice of Golden Corral's abrupt closure in Vineland was a sign taped to its glass front door that read, "THANK YOU FOR PAST 7 YEARS." The buffet-style restaurant menu carried nearly 300 items ranging from meatloaf and grilled-to-order steaks to a flowing chocolate fountain. Checkers Drive-In motto for its fast food offerings is "Crazy Good Food." (Photo: JOHN ZIOMEK/COURIER-POST) Checkers' sales motto is "Crazy Good Food." The drive-in chain also offers boneless or classic chicken wings, fish, milkshakes and soft serve cones. Its lightly battered and seasoned fries are its most popular item, according to Kim, and an ongoing special is the sale of four old-fashioned burgers for a total of $4. Carol Comegno: @carolcomegno; 856-486-2473; ccome