After a vote by the Sanford City Council Tuesday night to rezone a plot of land in Jonesboro for commercial use, the path is clear for the owners of Vass-based Italian restaurant Valenti’s to build a second location here.

VRRH, the company which owns Valenti’s, purchased the lot at Main and Dalrymple streets in Jonesboro behind the Piggly Wiggly store in 2016, and in January filed a plat map with the Lee County Register of Deeds giving a hint at what the property will look like when developed.

Valenti’s has operated in Vass since 1996, offering pizza by the slice, Italian sandwiches, and pasta dishes. While the city’s downtown streetscape projects have boosted commercial enterprises in downtown Sanford, similar development in downtown Jonesboro has lagged, meaning the new restaurant could be some of the first such new growth for the area.

Owner Adam Valenti said there are still some hoops to jump through, but that he hopes to have construction under way later this year.

“In my mind I’m hoping to start in July, but I can’t confirm anything until I hear from the Planning Committee,” he said. “We have an architectural review meeting with them at the end of the month, so hopefully then we will know more.”

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