Calhoun businessman Truman Webb Jr. and his stepson Jeremy Duke are acquiring the former City Market property at 238 Broad Street and hope to have a Mellow Mushroom open at that location by November.

Webb also co-owns a Mellow Mushroom in Myrtle Beach, S.C., with another stepson, Matt Duke.

“It’s done very well,” Webb said. “They have their own special sauce and dough that is supposed to be different and better than anything else in the area.”

“It’s sort of that old funky mid ’70s groovy type of setting,” Webb said. “It’s just supposed to be a real mellow atmosphere.”

Webb said the shop will have seating for 200, and he expects to employ between 35 and 50 people. “It’ll probably be more than that when we open, but that should be where we settle in at,” Webb said.

Webb said he and his stepson Jeremy Duke, who lives in Rome, have been looking for a Rome location for close to a year and had zeroed in on the old Johnny Carino’s location on Turner McCall Boulevard. “Applebee’s blocked that,” Webb said. “We looked at several other places, but they all fell through.”

The property at 238 Broad St. is owned by United Community Bank, which foreclosed on the property a couple of months ago. It was offered for sale on the courthouse steps for an opening bid of $850,000 but got no offers at that time.

JAMAC Properties LLC based in Calhoun and listing Webb as its registered agent, agreed to pay $795,000 for the building.

Former Rome businessman Walt Adams originally sought to develop the City Market at 238 Broad St.

“I think it’s just awesome,” said Jennifer Morgan, an assistant in the Downtown Rome Development office. “Anytime we can take a building that’s vacant and put a good new business in it, especially one with the reputation of Mellow Mushroom, is good.”

Bob Blumberg, owner of the new Johnny’s New York Style Pizza at 233 Broad St., which opened in mid-March of this year, said he was aware of the rumors about a Mellow Mushroom coming to Rome long before he decided to open Johnny’s downtown. “I am a little baffled about their choice of a location,” Blumberg said. “We’ve been well received here in Rome, and we’re going to continue to provide great food and service to our customers. This is not only our business, but it’s our home.”

Elaine Abercrombie at Greene’s Jewelers said it’s a well-documented fact that Romans eat out a lot. “I don’t see any problem with

Rome being able to support another restaurant on Broad Street,” Abercrombie said. She knows a little bit about competition as one of three jewelers on Broad Street along with Ford, Gittings & Kane Jewelers and Massey’s — The Diamond Store. “Competition breeds success. You work to have a better business,” she said.