By Jeremy A. Corley

Managing Editor

Van Alstyne's long-awaited Jack in the Box franchise opened Saturday morning with a full house and a Van Alstyne Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting.

The restaurant is located at 121 S. Henry Hynds Expressway immediately south of the Shell gas station.

"This is a good site in a good city," said Shannon Viswanath, who owns the restaurant and 10 others with her husband, Rabi.

"We like the town and the potential it has to offer," Rabi Viswanath said. "The city people have been amazingly helpful, cooperative and courteous. The chamber, the Economic Development Corporation, everybody's been extremely nice and helpful."

The Viswanaths have owned Jack in the Box franchises for about three years, with other locations in Gainesville, Lewisville and Denton and Oklahoma sites in Ada and Durant.

The store opened for a couple of hours later Friday afternoon to serve free food and to test the equipment before Saturday's grand opening. About 300 residents showed up Friday.

"It was pretty steady," Shannon Viswanath said.

The restaurant's hours are 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. in the dining room each day. The drive-through is open until 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Rabi Viswanath said he has plans to change the hours in the coming months.

"The restaurant is not yet 24 hours," he said. "We'd like it to be open 24 hours, and we have plans for it."

He said he and his wife were excited to have their new franchise up and running.

"We're here and we're open," he said. "This is a great community to work with, just being a part of a city that's growing. We're very excited about Van Alstyne."