Hardeeville Taco Bell has been vacant for months. It’s not because of workforce issues
Months after construction was completed on the new Taco Bell near Exit 8 in Hardeeville, why hasn’t it opened for business?
The building sits finished on a lot lined with freshly planted palms along U.S. 278. A sign hangs across the front patio seating area announcing the search for employees. But the inside of the restaurant is dark, and the parking lot is empty.
Pamela Flasch, spokesperson for Beaufort Jasper Water and Sewer Authority, said the issue has less to do with Taco Bell and more to do with construction of a hotel behind the restaurant.
Taco Bell’s sewer system is connected to a manhole owned by the Hampton Inn being built at 104 Brooks Willis Drive. That hotel isn’t scheduled to be completed until the summer.
“We can’t allow sewer to be released into a manhole that is not yet finished,” Flasch explained.
She said the utility company is working with the hotel’s contractor to get the manhole finished quickly.
Once the contractor completes work on the manhole, a BJWSA engineer will inspect the project and Taco Bell will be able to connect, Flasch said.
Franchise owner Nishal Patel, who lives in Atlanta and operates four other Taco Bell restaurants in Georgia, said he hopes to start serving customers in no more than 4-6 weeks. He wouldn’t be more specific with a date.
In the meantime, he said he will be partnering with another Taco Bell franchisee in Rincon to train employees.
“We are close,” he said.
