A groundbreaking for the Hardee’s restaurant began recently, Town Manager Gerald Spates confirmed. The Hardee’s, which will be located at the intersection of Milnwood Road and South Main Street, is expected to open later in the year.

Spates confirmed that the groundbreaking is taking place, and that he estimated it began sometime over the weekend.

“They are working on it now,” Spates said.

Rick Rountree, company spokesperson for Boddie-Noell Enterprises, Inc., a franchise operating company based in North Carolina that will be heading the Farmville Hardee’s, said the restaurant could open later this year.

He noted the company was hesitant to give specifics of the opening date due to potential fluctuating construction schedules. “We probably will be starting construction in the next month or so and the restaurant – based on schedules right now – would likely open sometime in the third quarter of the year.”

Rountree said Boddie-Noell Enterprises currently owns 343 Hardee’s locations throughout Virginia, North and South Carolina and Kentucky.

He said the company owns 180 Hardee’s locations in Virginia.

Jason Wright, owner of Wright Contracting, said on site Monday that his company will be working on the outside of the Hardee’s location. He noted that this would mean the company would take down trees surrounding the land, demolish an old parking lot, install water and sewer, perform landscaping and build a new parking lot.