City officials gathered with contractors to turn up ceremonial dirt in Rockmart this morning to usher in a new construction project sure to make plenty around Polk smile.

The future home of Dunkin Donuts and Longhorn Steakhouse in Rockmart was made official during a groundbreaking ceremony on the morning of July 31 as officials dug into the muddy Georgia red clay to mark the occasion. City Council members and Mayor Sherman Ross were on hand for the event along with other city officials and Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Marianne Wood for the morning ceremony.

Kevin O’Leary of O’Leary Partners is heading up the initial site development, and he expects that pads for buildings should be completed soon and then contractors working directly for the two restaurants should start work in the coming months – depending upon the weather.

The two restaurants are then likely to be finished sometime in early to mid 2025, but O’Leary also noted that the timetable is also dependent on the weather and supply chain availability for materials.

Dunkin Donuts and Longhorn were announced as the pair of the next major national food chains to move into Rockmart – and Polk County as a whole – earlier this year when developers sought permission for rezoning of the property.

It is a project that has been a year-and-a-half in the making, O’Leary said.

“It was a long time coming,” he said. “We had to deal with a few issues with access, both with the DOT and the city, but we were able to work through those with the help of the city. We had a few challenges along the way as the market ebbed and flowed, and we had to deal with our tenants and make sure everything was penciled for everybody.”

O’Leary said despite delays, they are “happy to get dirt moving, and we’re happy to be here in Rockmart.”

Work bringing down homes that were previously on the property began earlier this month, and leveling and site work has already progressed in the following weeks as the two restaurants go from dream to destinations for future cravings.

The layout of the new property will put the main entrance on Goodyear Avenue just before the turn onto Old Cartersville Road, utilizing the original driveway but widened for vehicles to get in and out in two lanes.

O’Leary said that the Dunkin Donuts will sit on the portion of the lot closest to the intersection of Highway 113/Goodyear Avenue and Highway 278 and have a parking area, while Longhorn will take up a majority of the rest of the site with its footprint and parking.

Since the project is an active work site, as soon as officials finished up this morning’s ceremony crews were immediately back to work on the site, being completed by Level Excavation and Utilities out of Carrollton

“They’ve been doing a great job for us,” O’Leary said.

A timeline for the project to be completed is all weather-depending, but O’Leary expects that sometime this fall the pads for the two restaurant locations will be completed – in a range of late September to October – and allow Dunkin and Longhorn to get to work.

O’Leary’s company will continue to own the parcel where the two buildings will be setup and Dunkin and Longhorn will lease their portions out, but are responsible for their own construction work.

Dunkin Donuts and Longhorn Steakhouse have locations all around Polk County, but this is the first foray into the local market amid continued expansion through the Rockmart area.

Rome, Cartersville, Hiram, Dallas and Bremen all have locations of both restaurants.