New restaurants are starting to pop up almost as frequently as new houses.

The Chicken Shak at the Shoppes at Town Square is the latest to announce a Fort Mill location. Owner Judy Rough plans to have the restaurant up and running by September.

"They're upfitting the building now," Rough said last Thursday. "I walked in there today and they were painting the ceiling."

The Fort Mill restaurant will be The Chicken Shak's second location. Rough's other restaurant has been open in Rock Hill on Hwy. 21 Bypass near Hwy. 5 for the last six years.

"We've had so many customers from Fort Mill coming in for a longtime, and they kept asking us to come into Fort Mill," Rough said. "My food rep, who works for Sysco, kept pushing us to look into this area."

It was only a matter of finding the right location, Rough added. She chose the Shoppes, located at the corner of Tom Hall Street and Doby's Bridge Road because of the number of homes in the area and a lack of dining options compared to Tega Cay and Baxter Village.

"There was so much already going on in Baxter and Tega Cay," she said. "We wanted something on the other side of town."

The Chicken Shak will be open seven days a week, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday - Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from 4 p.m. until the games are over on Sundays. Should voters approve Sunday alcohol sales countywide in a November referendum, Rough expects the place to be packed on Sundays during football season.

"The Rock Hill location has big football days," she said.

Chicken wings, which come in 18 varieties, are the Shak's biggest seller, Rough said. The restaurant uses fresh ingredients and also features hand cut onion rings, a wide array of sandwiches, chicken strips, salads, fried green tomatoes and more. Prices will start as low as $3.50 for a five-piece wing plate. The restaurant will also stock several varieties of beer and wine.

It will feature an open floor design allowing dinners to see any of several televisions that will be spaced throughout the building.

The Shoppes at Town Square is located on Tom Hall Street near Doby's Bridge Road.