Planned burger restaurant is now on hold in Norris
A hamburger restaurant planned for the east end of the Norris Town Center building that also houses Archer’s Food Center is on hold for now, its would-be owner Mark Thomas said late last week.
Big Mo’s, which was to be primarily a lunch place, was to be operated by Thomas, who is now general manager at Archer’s, and his business partner, Tim Mays.
Thomas said in early May that he was planning to open Big Mo’s in June, but the space remains empty, and planned renovations to the interior have yet to take place.
“We have had some remodeling issues with the landlord,” Thomas said. “Part of the ceiling has caved in.”
His new eatery was meant to replace the Twisted Sisters Bakery, which closed in mid-April after being open only about eight months.
“Our restaurant will be named after our signature burger, the Big Mo, which has three quarter-pound hamburger patties, six slices of bacon and four slices of cheese,” Thomas said in early May.
He said at the time that it also would serve such items as hot dogs, pulled pork barbecue, ribs, smoked bologna and chopped chicken sandwiches, and would initially be open only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Before Twisted Sisters opened last August, the space had housed the Sweet Café for the previous three years.
After the Sweet Café closed in February 2022, sisters Alecia Jackson and Katie Eslinger opened Twisted Sisters Sweets & Treats, with plans eventually to add a dine-in deli in the space. That never really materialized, however, and one of the sisters backed out of the business just a few weeks after it opened.
The restaurant space is completely empty now, and Thomas said in May that he was waiting for renovations and equipment installation to be completed before he and Mays could open Big Mo’s.
“I’d still like to do it,” he said last week. “I just don’t know when or whether the space will be available.”