Starbucks coming to Dayton?

DAYTON — Rhea County is just a few steps closer to seeing a Starbucks open in Dayton after the Rhea County Commission and the Dayton City Council voted today to move forward with the local Food City’s plans to relocate to the corner of Highway 27 and Highway 60, near Abel Drive and Zaxby’s.

At a Rhea County Commission meeting on Tuesday, officials from Food City requested a property tax abatement while opening a new location near downtown Dayton. During the presentation to the Rhea County Commission, Food City Vice President of Real Estate Stephen Spangler said that Food City purchased the property in 2021 with the goal of re-location.

While Spangler said that the new grocery store will include a Starbucks, he also added that the new store will be nearly 5,400-square-feet, surpassing the current Food City footage by nearly 1,000-square-feet. Additionally, Spangler said that due to increased square footage, an expanded bakery and deli section, as well as the addition of the Starbucks and five-pump gas-station, the new facility will create nearly 72 new jobs.

“Dayton and Rhea County have been good to us, so we wanted to give back to the community with this,” Spangler said.

Currently, Spangler said, that according to Food City estimates, Food City does nearly $21 million in general sales per year at the current location. He said that with increased square footage, the new, larger facility could produce nearly $31 million in sales.

According to figures provided by Spangler, tax revenue from sales at the new location could increase by nearly $460,000 from what is collected at the current Food City location and that the total tax revenue, with current tax revenue and projected tax revenue combined, Rhea County and Dayton could eventually see a total annual tax revenue of $2.4 million.

The Rhea County Commission voted on Tuesday to move forward with the project; however, both Food City and county officials said that state guidelines need to be met and county legislative resolutions need to be drafted before official moves can be made.