Mount Olive welcomes back Hardee's
By Steve Herring
Published in News on July 3, 2018 5:50 AM
News-Argus/STEVE HERRING
Town Manager Charles Brown, left, and town board member Dennis Drapper
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News-Argus/STEVE HERRING
Mike Boddie, president of Boddie-Noell Enterprises, cuts the ribbon Monday to officially open the new Hardee's on N.C. 55 West, Mount Olive.
MOUNT OLIVE -- Cars were in line for the drive-through by 5 a.m. Monday when Hardee's opened for business.
And by 10 a.m., the parking lot was full and a steady stream of customers filed through the restaurant.
But it was not so much a community welcome as it was a community welcome back, said Mayor Joe Scott, who was on hand for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
For many years, Hardee's had a location on North Breazeale Avenue across from the Piggly Wiggly, but it closed several years ago.
"We are pleased. We are happy," Mike Boddie, president of Boddie-Noell Enterprises, said of the response. "We are very pleased and happy to be here."
The approximately 2,900-square-foot store seats 68. It offers free WiFi and a tech table to plug in computers.
Boddie-Noell Enterprises, headquartered in Rocky Mount, operates 346 Hardee's across North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina and eastern Kentucky.
The company, started by Boddie's father and uncle in the 1960s, is a franchisee of Hardee's.
"We are always looking to grow," Boddie said. "We are going to try to open about 10 stores this year. We have always done good in neighborhood towns, small towns, and we have been looking at Mount Olive.
"We are down in Wilmington. We are in Wilson. We are in Goldsboro, and we just keep coming by looking and we just felt Mount Olive would be a good fit for us."
Boddie said one thing he has heard is that the town was easy to work with.
"You can get into some towns and they just make it hard," he said. "I don't know why. But Brenda (Cherry, company vice president for region one) said she was very pleased with Mount Olive and how they worked with us to get it open."
Most of the employees, 25 of which will be full time, are from Mount Olive and the surrounding area, Boddie said.
"We always try to hire as close as we can to the areas that we are in for the community," Boddie said.
The switchover to lunch will start between 10:30 and 11 a.m.
For about a half hour, both meals will be served as the menu transitions into lunch, Boddie said.
It will be open until 10 p.m. on weekdays and until 11 p.m. on weekends.
Hardee's was really the first one to offer made-from-scratch biscuits in the 1970s, Boddie said.
Also on the breakfast menu are platters and sweets such as cinnamon raisin and strawberry shortcake.
Hardee's is also known for its Thick Burger line, as well as grilled chicken, ham and cheese, hot dogs and hand-breaded chicken tenders.
"We try to have a good rounded menu," Boddie said.
A soft opening was held Saturday, following a training session.
"Employees could invite their families and friends and Saturday night they cook for their family." Boddie said. "So it is a private party for family."
Economic development is about jobs, and this Hardee's has given the town jobs for local people, Scott said.
"On top of that, it is bringing back what we have missed for a long time, and that is Hardee's," he said. "It is a great menu, and I just feel like it is going to a great added success to our community."
New business is always good for the town, said Hope McPherson Fields, Chamber board member.
"Development like rising tide raises all ships," she said. "New business provides more options for folks here in town and especially from the university prespective.
"You know, another option for students. That is always good."
Also, it is good to hear about the employees Hardee's hired, Chamber President Julie Beck said.
"That is 59 more people who are in our workforce, which is always a good thing," Beck said. "It makes our economic impact that much greater."
It also contributes to quality of life, Chamber board member Crystal Jones said.