Golden Chick preps for opening

The 55-seat restaurant will employ around 35. It will also have drive-through service.

KFC closed its Orangeburg restaurants with no announcement in October 2013, including the Columbia Road location.

Golden Chick provides fried and roasted chicken, as well as catfish, salads, vegetable sides, fountain drinks, tea and lemonade. For larger gatherings, the restaurant also has party-sized orders.

Franchisee Corey Wright is the first to have brought the restaurant into the Southeast.

In April 2013, he opened a location in Sumter and has remodeled two former KFC restaurants in Manning and Lake City. He also opened two restaurants in Greenville and one in Columbia.

Golden Chick also has a presence in Greenville and one in Greenwood, according to its website.

The restaurant has about 164 locations, with a significant majority located in Texas. It also has locations in Oklahoma, Georgia and Shanghai, China.

Golden Fried Chicken began in San Marcos, Texas, in the late 1960s. By 1982, the chain had grown to include 39 restaurants.

In March 1989, Golden Fried Chicken was purchased by an investment group. In the 1990s, the company expanded its menu and began calling its new restaurants Golden Chick.