Within the next few months, Starkville is set to become the home of a brand-new Chick-Fil-A.
The first step in the construction process, which began roughly a month ago, saw the demolition of a log cabin that formerly housed a Burger King on the corner of Spring Street and Miss. Highway 12.
Mark Nicholas, managing member of Cotton Mills Development Group, which is overseeing the project, said once the cabin was knocked down he was able to sell the parcel of land to the Chick-Fil-A Corporation and construction began.
 ”We strictly dealt with corporate headquarters, and this will be a company-owned store. Because the Chick-Fil-A has done so well on the MSU campus, they really wanted to bring one to the Starkville community at large,” he said.
Since this store will be one of Chick-Fil-A’s high-volume designs, the restaurant will have a full-size menu, double drive-thru and a parking lot equipped with numerous parking spaces.
The restaurant will have the potential to create at least 20 job opportunities for residents of the Starkville community.
Nicholas said it will be situated at one of the best locations in Starkville, near one of the busiest traffic routes in the city and in close proximity to the MSU’s campus.
“It will be a great addition to Starkville and will provide some very good job opportunities. Chick-Fil-A is a great organization, and it has been a real pleasure doing business with them,” he said.
Nicholas, developer for the much-anticipated Cotton Mill Marketplace in Starkville, said while the necessary funds for the project have been difficult to obtain thus far, he remains optimistic that construction will begin once the financial negotiations have been finalized.
“Any new construction financing is extremely hard to obtain due to the economic conditions of the last two years,” he said. “We continue to work to complete the financing of the Cotton Mill project with some of the local banks that view this project as extremely important to the university, the city and the Golden Triangle region.”
 Because the project is still in the pre-construction stage, developers are unable to update the public with any specific details.
However, as the development progresses, more information will be provided as it becomes available.