Location planned for Andalusia, too?

The Opp City Council Monday asked for more time to look over a proposal to bring in a new barbecue place to the city of Opp.

John and Shelly Tomberlin are planning to build a Golden Rule Barbecue near the Best Western on the Opp bypass.

The land belongs to the utilities board and in order to make the agreement work, the land would have to be transferred to the city

Charles Matsos of the Golden Rule organization said that it’s the oldest restaurant in the state of Alabama and dates back to 1891.

He said there are eight locations currently and they are building more.

The Opp location will have 127 seats in the main dining room, 45 seats in the private dining area and outdoor seating.

Matsos said the restaurant will bring 35 new jobs to the city.

Real Estate Developer Steven Saunders said he thought that the restaurant could bring the needed synergy to the area to bring more retail to the bypass.

Tomberlin said there would be plenty of parking for customers.

He also said he expects it to take six months for construction. The company recently updated its web site, and listed both Opp and Andalusia as “coming soon” locations, along with Brewton, Dothan, Enterprise, Millbrook, Pelham, Pinson and Wetumpka. The present Alabama locations are in the greater Birmingham area.