Monday, Mar. 01, 2010

Restaurant may open by May

Rainfall may develop into an issue

Rally’s will likely open in Los Baños in May, according to the leader of the city’s Planning Department. Planning Director Paula Fitzgerald said the fast food restaurant is moving forward in the pre-construction process.

“They had their first inspection of the under-slab and plumbing last week. They’re having the inspection of the temporary power pole today (Monday),” Fitzgerald said.

She said she believes the restaurant will open in about two months.

The Rally’s project consists of a 1,055 square foot restaurant with a double drive through. It is located on the 1300 block of Pacheco Boulevard at the Mercey Springs Road intersection. The area used to be a gas station.

Fitzgerald said issues regarding environmental cleanup were addressed at the start of the process of bringing the restaurant to town.

However, the weather is a possible obstacle to the business opening on schedule. According to the National Weather Service office in Hanford, last month was the wettest February in Los Baños (2.06 inches of rain) since 2005, which garnered 2.51 inches of rainfall.

Fitzgerald said if the rain continues it could affect the project’s completion date. She said the impact the weather ultimately has on the pace of the work on the restaurant will not be different than any other construction.

“It’s the same as everything else,there’s some stuff you can do and some stuff you can’t,” she said.

On its Web site Rally’s boasts of being the nation’s largest chain of double drive through restaurants, claiming more than 800 locations.

Enterprise staff writer Corey Pride can be reached at 388-6563 or cpride@losbanosenterprise.com