Bojangles' and mall movie theater set to open; 7-Eleven takes out gas pumps — The buzz

The Bojangles' at Frontier Center is set to open next year, the new movie theater in the Staunton Mall will open this Friday and Staunton's 7-Eleven took out the gas pumps out front — here's the buzz.

Bojangles'

It'll be "Bo Time" in no time! The franchise group Wilgo Bo LLC is currently targeting a grand opening date in early spring 2018, according to Cliff Cermak, spokesman for Bojangles'.

The new chicken joint will be in the Staunton Frontier Center off Richmond Avenue in Staunton.

Staunton Frontier Center is across from Staunton Crossing and in front of the Frontier Culture Museum. The development plans to bring retail, restaurants and lodging to a 42-acre area on land adjacent to Sheetz. The original master plan was presented to city council in 2010 and, in 2014, plans began to move forward. Work began on the first phase of the complex in 2016.

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Four out of five out parcels of the first phase of construction are committed to a retailer and three restaurants. Of those three restaurants, Bojangles' has already confirmed its Staunton presence at Staunton Frontier. A Chick-fil-A is also expected to fill one of the parcels and a McDonald's is expected to fill another. Aldi will be filling the fourth parcel committed. Aldi is expected to open the first half of 2018.

Bojangles' will bring approximately 80 full and part-time jobs to the new location.

Those interested in keeping up with the construction progress or apply for a job may visit the store's Facebook page at Go Botime Staunton.

Movies

Legacy Theaters is set to open Friday, Dec. 15 at the Staunton Mall.

Robert Harrison started cleaning up the old theater in October and was calling the new theater Paragon Cinemas, his own locally-owned brand, not to be confused with Paragon Theaters out of Florida. The theater's name was later changed to Legacy Theaters.

Regal Cinemas left in 2010 and the then-management at the mall took over the theater. The six screens have remained empty relatively since then. Harrison has brought all six screens back to life with new digital projectors. He said there wouldn't be any 3D movies, though.

The new theater will offer digital movies at a discounted price, its Facebook said. Movies will be $3 for any movie at any time.

Opening week movies include It, Thor: Ragnarok, The Mountain Between Us, Murder on the Orient Express, The LEGO Ninja Movie and A Bad Mom's Christmas. Check out the theater's Facebook page at Legacy Theater for showtimes and more.

7-Eleven

The 7-Eleven on Coalter Street in Staunton may look a like it's missing a few things.

The gas pumps were taken out in late November and those spots were paved over in early December.

According to Dana Bower, the manager of the store, the gas pumps and tanks were out of code and it was easier just to take them out than replace them.

"It usually increases the business because it allows for more parking," she said. "It's usually more business inside."

Bower said that removing the pumps hasn't hurt business thus far.

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The buzz is a short recap of area business trends. Send ideas to reporter Laura Peters at lpeters@newsleader.com or follow her @peterslaura and @peterpants.