By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

Alabaster’s Steak ‘n Shake restaurant at the Colonial Promenade will celebrate its grand opening on Aug. 9, the business’s owner said.

Clarence Moss, who earlier this year secured an area development agreement giving him rights to open and operate Steak ‘n Shake restaurants in central Alabama, previously said he planned to open the restaurant by the Fourth of July.

However, a property closing delay pushed the project back about a month, he said.

“We got delayed, so we are planning to open it on August 9 now,” Moss said, noting he has received much interest from the community since announcing the restaurant. “I think it will be really good after we get open.”

Moss said he currently is training about 120 people to staff the restaurant, which will be located near the intersection of U.S. 31 and South Colonial Drive near the southern end of the Colonial Promenade south shopping center.

As of early June, crews had poured the building’s slab and had constructed the restaurant’s metal frame. According to the building plans, the new restaurant will be about 3,515 square feet, and will seat about 107 people.

Steak ‘n Shake is a vintage-themed restaurant offering steak burgers, milkshakes, sandwiches and many other items. The restaurant is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“It takes a lot of people to run a restaurant like this, a lot more than just a fast food restaurant,” Moss said.

The Alabaster Steak ‘n Shake will be the first in the Birmingham metropolitan area. The only Steak ‘n Shake restaurants currently in Alabama are in Prattville, Decatur, Mobile and Huntsville.