AC repair in Statesboro, GA

The growing fast-casual dining landscape in Statesboro is set to welcome a familiar national brand, with QDOBA Mexican Eats moving forward with plans to open a new restaurant. Signage is already up at the Tormenta Way location, and interior renovations are underway, indicating a swift progression towards the restaurant's launch.

Statesboro residents will soon have another fast-casual dining option as moves forward with plans to open a new location in the city.

The City of Statesboro has issued a commercial alteration permit for interior build-out at 229 Tormenta Way, in the retail corridor near Publix grocery store and .

Signage for the restaurant has already been installed on the building, and interior renovations are currently underway, signaling that preparations for the new restaurant are progressing. An official opening timeline has not yet been announced.

Founded in 1995, QDOBA is a national fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in customizable Mexican-inspired dishes including burritos, bowls, tacos, quesadillas, and nachos. The brand operates hundreds of locations across the United States and Canada and continues to expand through franchised restaurants.

The concept centers on a build-your-own meal format, where customers select ingredients as they move down a serving line before their meal is prepared. This quick-service style has become one of the fastest-growing segments of the restaurant industry.

QDOBA’s arrival will place it alongside other fast-casual Mexican concepts familiar to many diners, including Chipotle Mexican Grill and the Georgia-based Surcheros Fresh Mex.

All three brands use a similar assembly-line format that allows customers to customize burritos, bowls, tacos, and salads with a choice of proteins, toppings, and sauces. The differences largely come down to menu style and brand focus.

QDOBA is known for offering queso and guacamole without an additional charge on many menu items, along with a wide range of sauces and toppings.

Chipotle, one of the largest brands in the category, focuses on a more streamlined menu and emphasizes its sourcing of ingredients.

Surcheros, which has locations in Statesboro, across Georgia, and the Southeast, offers a similar build-your-own experience with a menu that includes grilled vegetables and house sauces that reflect a regional flavor profile.

For Statesboro diners, the addition of QDOBA will provide another variation of the fast-casual burrito concept, giving customers more choices within a dining category that continues to grow in popularity.

The restaurant’s planned location places it in one of Statesboro’s fastest-growing commercial corridors adjacent to Georgia Southern's South Campus expansion, an area that has attracted a mix of retail, dining, and service businesses in recent years.

The site sits near several major retail anchors and residential areas and is also within close proximity to Georgia Southern University, positioning the restaurant to serve students, residents, and shoppers in the surrounding area.

With permits issued and interior construction underway, the project has entered the build-out phase that typically precedes inspections and final preparations for opening.

The company has not yet released an official opening date or hiring timeline. Additional details are expected as construction progresses.

If completed, the location would mark the first QDOBA restaurant in Statesboro, adding another national brand to the city’s growing restaurant and retail market.

The name of a major sporting goods chain, Academy Sports, appears on a Statesboro city permit associated with the ongoing renovations at 600 Northside Drive East, the long-vacant former Publix supermarket location in University Commons.

That's the commercial center, behind a Wendy's, that contains the Red Claw, an El Sombrero and the Lucky Garden restaurant and a vape and smoke shop.

Contractor fences, a roll-off bin and work trucks have been obvious signs of interior demolition and some type of renovation in the old grocery store portion of the property since December. A few trailers carrying shiny metal equipment have arrived, and at times contractor employees can be seen on top of the building.

The Herald recently requested and obtained an electronic copy of a Statesboro city permit dated 22 December 2025 whose specifications box indicates it is for "New Electrical Service, Academy Sports, 600 Northside Drive East." It further names Clifford Lusk, PE, electrical engineer, as submitting the plans with his seal, and identifies Hull Property Group, the apparent direct or indirect owner of the building.

The Bulloch County Board of Tax Assessors database lists the shopping center with the address 581 Northside Drive East and the owner as Statesboro University Village LLC. But "600" was previously over one of the doors there, and as noted when the Herald first reported on this activity at the end of December, the LLC has the same Augusta address as the Hull Group.

No announcement had been made as of Monday, and city officials have been reluctant to comment on what may go in the building. In December, Statesboro's city Planning and Development Director Justin Williams confirmed only that the property owner was planning to put "some type of retail" there.

Monday, the Statesboro Herald asked if he had any comment on the prospective business in light of the electrical permit or any further knowledge of the plans.

"I would hesitate to speculate on this until a build-out permit has been issued," Williams said in a reply email. "At this time, that has not happened."

Early Monday afternoon, the reporter filed a media information request through the "contact us" page of the Academy Sports+Outdoors Inc. website. In the late afternoon, he also sent an email to a Hull Group communications address. No replies had been received as of online story posting time Monday.

Big company

As of the third quarter of 2025, Academy Sports+Outdoors Inc. – based at Katy, Texas, a suburb of Houston – operated 317 stores in 21 states across the South, Southeast and Midwest, according to information on its website. One of the company's three distribution centers is located in Jeffersonville, Georgia. The others are in Cookeville, Tennessee and Katy, Texas.

As of a December report for investors, the corporation's 2025 net sales were forecast at $6 billion to $6.2 billion. A publicly traded company since late 2020, it is listed on Nasdaq with the symbol ASO.

A store locator page on the website listed 22 Georgia stores, with some of the nearest being one each in Brunswick, in Evans near Augusta, and in Macon.