One shopping center in Elizabethton will soon see a familiar face return to the area.

Elizabethton City Manager Pro Tem Jon Hartman confirmed to the Elizabethton Star Friday evening that a commercial renovation permit was issued for the Mayflower seafood restaurant located at 1733 Highway 19E in the Betsytowne Shopping Center. The renovation permit was issued from the city on Wednesday, March 14.

No reopening date has been confirmed to the Elizabethton Star but work crews have been on site over the past couple of weeks to have the facility in condition for its unveiling to the public.

The return of the restaurant adds some much-needed flair to the relatively unoccupied center that houses two restaurants — Little Caesars and Arby’s. Big Lots, which was previously located at the center, moved to its new location off West Elk Avenue in the city — leaving the center ripe for the picking for potential new business.

Betsytown Shopping Center and over eight acres of land at the facility is owned by Marathon Realty Corp., based out of Abingdon, Va. Marathon purchased the property for roughly $1.3 million from SAND, LLC, based out of Elizabethton.

In early 2017, during transition at the shopping center, Hartman told the Elizabethton Star that the location could be a boom for that specific section of the community.

“It could mean a lot, potentially, for that side of the city,” Hartman said, adding that the department estimated roughly 22,000 people come through that section of the Elizabethton trade area. Additional business in that corridor will also benefit the region, Hartman said, by adding tax revenue for the county and the city.