Around Town: Green Tomato Buffet Plans September Opening in West Rome. Now Hiring: Amazon

The newest player in West Rome’s ever-changing dining scene is bringing back a buffet. This latest one will go a bit beyond meats and veggies.

The Green Tomato Buffet at 2103 Shorter Ave. is expected to open by mid September in the recent home of Cod Tail.

Prep work is continuing, with a large commercial dumpster behind the restaurant quickly filling up. The “coming soon” signage dominates the front.

The new operators say the menu will feature “a country-style buffet with fried chicken, collard greens, macaroni, barbecue ribs, mashed potatoes” and other options.

That’s in addition to all-you-can-eat helpings from “the salad bar, dessert bar, soups.”

The buffet price has yet to be announced but there will be discounts for seniors and the military.

This is the group’s second restaurant in Georgia. They also operate Old Tyme Grill & Buffet in Jonesboro.

Background: West Rome was home to several buffets, two of which have closed in recent years: M & J’s Home Cooking on Shorter Avenue (now Tequila’s Bar & Grill) and Ryan’s, which has been leveled as Tidal Wave car wash is on the way across from Sam’s.

Check it out: Crews spent Thursday putting down new directional stripes and other upgrades to the new parking and drive-through lanes at Checkers restaurant on Turner McCall Boulevard at Broad Street. It reopens today after about a week’s closure for updates.

Amazon: ‘Hundreds of jobs’

The employment buzz in recent months has been about some 5,500 expected new jobs from Qcells, the solar parts giant with a new Bartow campus, and the massive SK On/Hyundai center on U.S. 411 west of Cartersville.

But there’s another big player nearby with some pretty ambitious plans as well.

Amazon’s latest investment in Northwest Georgia is scheduled to open off Cassville-White Road north of Cartersville later this summer or in early fall.

The campus “will create hundreds of jobs. Employees at this inbound cross dock facility will receive inventory, sort it and then ship it to other Amazon operations facilities for further consolidation and eventual fulfillment,” says Greg Rios, the company’s Georgia spokesman, in a media release.

You can apply at Amazon.com/FlexibleJobs or sign up for job alerts by texting “HIREME” to 31432. Average hourly pay is nearly $21.

Why we say latest hire: The Amazon release says the company “has created 34,000 full- and part-time jobs in Georgia and invested $18.5 billion across the state” since 2010. Apply industry multipliers and that investment quickly doubles with “more than 44,700 indirect jobs on top of Amazon’s direct hires in the state.”

Popcorn & Politics

Location, location, location: Rome’s city commissioners are split on where to place the multimillion-dollar water treatment plant and some want more options, citing the Riverside Parkway site as a waste of development potential.

That is, some commissioners believe the area could serve greater needs, such as housing, as it sits across from Ridge Ferry Park and the river trail system.

Never mind that Riverside Parkway is a major corridor into Rome and we’ve not exactly done a great job with those (i.e., junk cars scattered just off U.S. 411 east of town or along Ga. 101 coming into Rome).

And while the treatment plant is expected to be a “showpiece,” exactly how much lipstick can you put on such a utility? This isn’t a new city hall.

We’ve seen weird development choices in the past — a parking deck along prime riverfront in downtown Rome, for example. We can, and should, do better even if it costs more. These buildings will last several generations.

Political calendar:

Saturday: Annual Tillman Rally from the Floyd County Republican Party, 11 a.m. at Coosa Valley Fairgrounds.♦ Admission is free and gates open at 10 a.m. Food trucks are scheduled to be onsite as well. Expected to speak: Federal, state and local Republicans.

Thursday: Harris’ speech/watch party. The Democratic National Convention opens Monday in Chicago and Floyd Democrats are sponsoring a watch party beginning at 8:30 p.m. Thursday as Vice President Kamala Harris accepts the party’s nomination. Details: Third floor of Mellow Mushroom♦ , 238 Broad St. Refreshments will be served; a cash bar will be available.

Peaks & Valleys

The highs and lows of Northwest Georgia

Valley to a disturbing trend among some businesses: The pending loss of Badcock Home Furniture & More in Rome, Cartersville and other Georgia cities is a sign of concern. Another major retailer is closing locations as well but so far our market has been spared. A few smaller shops have seen some changes as well, an overall development that is drawing concern about both employment and rising vacancies. We’ll be tracking additional changes.

Peak to the first hints of fall weather: You had to be up a bit early to enjoy it but we’ve had a few recent days hinting at what’s to come this year. A 65-degree reading with low humidity was recorded Sunday. It helps offset a triple-digit heat index or even bad air days in Bartow and metro Atlanta. Fall’s official start isn’t until Sept. 22 but here’s hoping the thermometer says otherwise.