Construction on a new Zaxby’s restaurant in Batesville is now under way.

Zaxby’s licensees David Bowden and Tom Scott plan to open the new quick-casual restaurant later this summer at 101 Medical Center Drive, off of Highway 6.

The new Zaxby’s will create an additional 40 to 50 jobs for the area and applications for employment are now being accepted.

“We’re excited to offer Zaxby’s to the residents of Batesville and Panola County,” said Bowden, who owns Mississippi Zaxby’s restaurants in Horn Lake, Olive Branch and Oxford.

Originally from Zaxby’s hometown of Athens, Ga., Bowden and his family relocated to the Memphis area in 2005 to develop Zaxby’s restaurants in northern Mississippi. After five years, Bowden now operates seven locations, three in Mississippi and four in Arkansas.

 Zaxby’s utilizes a “quick-casual” format, providing services and amenities that fall somewhere between fast food and a sit-down restaurant, Bowden said. The new restaurant is approximately 3,495 square feet and will seat 75. Zaxby’s will also offer drive-thru services.

The new location will be the 10th for the state when it opens. Zaxby’s currently operates more than 470 locations in 11 states — Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

Austin Mitchell will serve as the new restaurant’s general manager.

Zaxby’s opened its first restaurant in Statesboro, Ga., in March 1990, and by July 2001 opened its 100th location in Jacksonville, Fla. Zaxby’s celebrated its 200th restaurant opening in its hometown of Athens, Ga., in May 2004, and in December 2005 observed its 300th opening in Dallas, Ga. In October 2007 Zaxby’s opened its 400th location in Macon, Ga.