Aiken's first Parker's Kitchen is set to open Friday.
"I'm very excited to announce that we'll be opening on Friday morning," Parker's Kitchen Real Estate Development Manager Daniel Ben-Yisrael told the Aiken City Council on Monday evening.
Parker's Kitchen is a Savannah-based gas station chain with over 70 stores, mainly located in the Savannah/Hilton Head Island and Charleston areas.
The Parker's Kitchen is located at the former Dick Smith property located on the northwest side of the intersection of Richland Avenue, Jefferson Davis Highway, Robert M. Bell Parkway and Hitchcock Parkway. The address is 140 Jefferson Davis Highway.
Mayor Teddy Milner offered her congratulations to the company for opening the store.
Councilwoman Lessie Price said Parker's Kitchen had done a great job in upgrading the former Dick Smith property.
"Thank you for taking a space that's been sitting there for more than a decade," Price said.
Mayor Pro Tempore Ed Girardeau said the store looked "really great."
"I rode by and cheered the other day," he continued. "I don't know of any place that's been so much improved."
Ben-Yisrael said the store's opening will be "soft," meaning there won't be any ceremonies or speeches. A more formal grand opening will be held between four and seven weeks at a date to be determined, Ben-Yisrael added.
Ben-Yisrael addressed the city council before it voted to accept deeds of dedication for the water and sewer lines at the store.
There are also plans to build a Parker's Kitchen on Aiken's Eastside. And CEO Greg Parker told the Aiken Standard last year the company is looking for a location on Whiskey Road on the city's Southside.
