Chunky's adding more locations

<p>Chunky's Chicken may not have opened to the fanfare of the Wal-Mart Supercenter, but owner Jamal Shaer said business has been great at the east Gainesville drive-through that will have been open a year come March.</p><p>Now Shaer is making plans to open a takeout location on Archer Road near Shands in March or April and hopes to open a couple more locations on the outskirts of Gainesville.</p><p>He is especially interested in finding small abandoned restaurant buildings. He said he already made an unsuccessful attempt at landing the closed Sonic properties.</p><p>Chunky's offers crispy buffalo-style chicken wings and seafood platters. The takeout location will also have wraps and gyros.</p><p>Although east Gainesville hasn't lured many new businesses, Shaer said there was a lot of anticipation about what would go in the 30-year-old former In 'N Out drive-through, calling the location a famous landmark. Several businesses were interested in the location before he got it, including Chick-Fil-A.</p><p>Just south of a six-light intersection on Hawthorne Road off E. University Avenue, Shaer said Chunky's gets a lot of people traveling to Hawthorne or Palatka, and have had a lot of business from employees at the Sheriff's Office, Shands, the University of Florida and the fire department.</p><p>"A lot of people underestimate the business that is going on in east Gainesville, but there are a lot of opportunities here," he said.</p><p>Shaer owns a restaurant and several convenience stores in the Homestead and Miami areas, but said South Florida real estate was getting too expensive.</p><p>"I figured to make a move where things are upward and running and moving, and most investments are heading up this way because of the price and value with regard to real estate," he said.</p>