An Olive Garden and a LongHorn Steakhouse have officially reached the site plan review stage for Sanford's Adams Village development, with the Sanford-Lee County Planning Board's Technical Review Committee placing both restaurants on its September agenda. The Olive Garden is proposed at 6,350 square feet, while the LongHorn Steakhouse would span 5,600 square feet, both along N.C. Highway 87.
According to Star 102.5, the two restaurants mark the project's progression from early tenant interest to formal municipal review. City of Sanford planning submittal documents filed for September designate the Olive Garden for a 1.59-acre outparcel, identified as parcel #4, and the LongHorn Steakhouse for a 1.52-acre outparcel, parcel #3, both located at 3350 NC Highway 87 under Conditional Commercial Zoning, per the City of Sanford. That level of detail gives residents their clearest look yet at exactly where the restaurants would sit within the sprawling development.
The Technical Review Committee's role is administrative — verifying that the submitted plans comply with zoning and engineering standards — and the same Star 102.5 report notes that neither Darden Restaurants nor LongHorn's parent company has issued a corporate announcement or set a firm construction timeline. As The U.S. Sun reported, Olive Garden has not publicly confirmed the Adams Village location, and the outlet said it reached out to the chain for more information but had not received a response. The U.S. Sun also reported that heavy construction is already underway across the broader Adams Village site.
A 32-Acre Vision Years in the Making
Adams Village was first announced in March 2022, and the master plan pairs its 32-acre highway commercial footprint with a residential subdivision of 250 single-family lots and 231 townhome lots, according to the article's reporting cited by The Rant. The U.S. Sun similarly reported the project includes roughly 202,700 square feet of anchor retail space and five future commercial outparcels, giving the residential population built directly into the site a shopping and dining corridor of its own.
Triangle Business Journal first reported in April that national brands including Whataburger, BJ's Wholesale Club, Olive Garden, and Ulta Beauty were eyeing spaces at Adams Village before any formal site plans reached municipal boards, the same account notes. Whataburger has expanded rapidly across North Carolina between 2024 and 2026, opening new Triangle-area locations after entering Gastonia, Charlotte, High Point, and Winston-Salem. The U.S. Sun's report adds that Olive Garden serves its familiar unlimited warm garlic breadsticks, house salad, and homemade soup, and that the chain now counts more than 950 restaurants nationwide.
Why National Chains Are Circling Sanford
Following sales growth across its roughly 956 U.S. locations in 2025, Olive Garden's parent, Darden Restaurants, planned about 60 new store openings in 2026 with additional locations targeted for 2027, the same Rant article states. The U.S. Sun reported that an Adams Village Olive Garden restaurant is slated to open in 2027 as one of the development's initial tenants, with the chain planning even more locations that same year.
Economic analysis released by the Sanford Area Growth Alliance in 2025 estimated Lee County loses approximately $74 million to $75 million annually in what's known as “retail leakage,” as residents travel to neighboring counties to shop and dine, per the same Rant reporting. That figure has become a rallying point for local leaders, who also backed a public-private redevelopment agreement approved by the Sanford City Council in late 2025 with CASTO Development Company for Riverbirch Corner, bringing a new Target and a new-to-market regional grocery store expected to open in fall 2027.
Infrastructure Built for a Boom
Much of Sanford's capacity for this growth traces back to state investment. To accommodate regional industrial and residential expansion — including Chatham County's $4 billion VinFast EV manufacturing complex — North Carolina allocated $75 million directly to the City of Sanford starting in 2022 for municipal water and sewer system upgrades, according to Business North Carolina. That utility expansion has helped clear the way for a wave of new commercial development beyond Adams Village itself.
Along the N.C. 87 and Tramway Road corridors, 2026 commercial projects taking shape alongside Adams Village include the city's first Chipotle, a proposed Culver's, a Firestone Complete Auto Care, and a Provision Ace Hardware, Star 102.5 reported. Hoodline first covered the emerging tenant lineup at Adams Village in April, when Whataburger, BJ's, Olive Garden, and Ulta Beauty were still described only as brands eyeing space in Sanford before any site plans had reached city boards.
