Ben’s ChopHouse preparing for move to prime Veterans Parkway site

After more than a decade on Sidney Simons Boulevard, the popular restaurant Ben’s ChopHouse is preparing to move to a very visible location at 6780 Veterans Parkway in north Columbus.

That’s the address of the former Ruby Tuesday restaurant, which closed its doors in August as part of a large round of cuts by its parent company. The Columbus location was among 95 eateries shuttered by Maryville, Tenn.-based Ruby Tuesday Inc., with the Peachtree Mall location remaining open.

Now enter Ben’s ChopHouse, which is currently located at 5300 Sidney Simons Blvd., just off Airport Thruway in The Landings commercial development. Open since 2005, its bread-and-butter fare includes hand-cut steaks and fresh seafood, with pork chops, burgers, chicken, pasta, salads and side dishes all on the menu. The atmosphere has included live music on some nights.

Owner Ben Boles could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. Office manager Katrina Royster acknowledged that she has been fielding a wave of phone calls since Ben’s ChopHouse began running the required public notice for an alcohol beverage license in the Ledger-Enquirer over the holiday weekend.

“You would not believe the amount of calls that I’m getting,” she said. “They’re coming out of the woodwork. Everybody has started calling left and right. It’s just overwhelming. Customers, vendors, everybody, you name it.”

Royster said the plan is for Ben’s ChopHouse to remain on Sidney Simons Boulevard until everything is completed for the relocation. That includes the alcohol license, health inspections and other requirements. Work on the new Veterans Parkway location is now under way, with things like tile being installed.

She stressed that it will be February or March before Ben’s ChopHouse makes its move to the 4,700-square-foot space formerly occupied by Ruby Tuesday.

“I’m telling them we’re not moving yet,” Royster said of curious callers to the current location. “We’re not closed. We’ll be here for at least another two months.”

Ben’s ChopHouse is operated under the corporation name Margarita Grill LLC. Bowles will remain the owner, Royster said, while the restaurant’s management also will remain the same. There are plans to debut a new menu at the Veterans Parkway location, she said.

The restaurant’s new home is situated at one of the busier locations in the city, with it at the corner of Veterans Parkway and Adams Farm Drive, an entrance to the Columbus Park Crossing shopping and dining area, which is heavily trafficked and has become a restaurant hub of sorts through the years.

The intersection sees about 34,000 vehicles a day, according to Georgia Department of Transportation traffic counts. Between 50,000 and 60,000 vehicles move through the nearby Interstate 185 and U.S. Highway 80 (J.R. Allen Parkway) corridors on any given day.

This story was originally published January 3, 2017 at 6:23 PM with the headline "Ben’s ChopHouse preparing for move to prime Veterans Parkway site."