Cook Out at 20220 W. Catawba

May 29. Cook Out will hire 30 to 40 more people at their new store on West Catawba by the time it opens in early July. Cook Out bought the old KFC building for $1.8 million last year and remodeled it, including a new facade, interior and parking lot.  Jobseekers can walk up to the tent out front at 20220 West Catawba. They’ve already hired about 10 people.

What’s cooking

Cook Out, which launched in Greensboro in 1989, has grown exponentially, reaching 100 stores in 2012 and now has more than 250 stores in Virginia, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Tennessee and the Carolinas.

Competition among the big fast food chains has intensified recently with almost all of them competing with dollar menus and discounts.

Bojangle’s is right next door, and the Pizza Hut on the other side of Cook Out has become a Starbuck’s—with plenty of food items and even coffee.

Thankfully, there has not been a reduction in the fast-food chain population in Cornelius. Pizza Hut moved to smaller digs in Lakeshore Marketplace, a little farther west on West Catawba.

Eating virtually

Meanwhile, restaurants—the last thing you’d expect to go virtual—are shrinking in size as take-out dining becomes more popular for busy families.

In some larger markets there are actually “ghost” restaurants that offer take-out only. Customers don’t pick up their own food; the virtual restaurants deliver directly to their patrons, or use third-party delivery services.

Calorie counts are said to remain the same.