A brand new branch of Krystal Burger has received unanimous approval from the city to open its doors in a shuttered building on South Claiborne between Earhart Boulevard and Napoleon Avenue, reports Uptown Messenger.

The building, formerly a KFC prior to Katrina, is among a dozen scheduled to open in the New Orleans area over the next few years.

The $1.1 million project will create about 45 part-time jobs, six permanent jobs, will take around 2 months to prep the building and 70 days for the renovations.

There already exists a branch on Bourbon Street, but this new location will be the first that is run by the national corporate office.

The only other location where Krystal burger has a branch in the metro area is in Marrero.

At least 15-20 stores are scheduled to open over the next three years as mentioned in the minutes of the company’s meeting held in January.

Bret Turner of Mouton Long Turner Architects is the architect.

Krystal is the seventh or eighth-oldest hamburger chain in the United States (the oldest being White Castle) and the oldest in the South. Krystal restaurants are the host of the Krystal Square Off, a competitive eating contest. The current world record is 103 Krystal burgers consumed in 8 minutes by Joey Chestnut, set at the 2007 competition.

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