SALISBURY — The highly anticipated restaurant planned for the former K&W cafeteria building at the West End Plaza is gearing up to open.

But it will have a different name.

Perkins Management Services, a Washington, D.C.-based contract food service company, signed a lease with Rowan County for the building beginning in December 2020. The company intended to open a restaurant called Perkins Cafeteria in the summer of 2021.

Nicholas Perkins, CEO, Chairman and President of Perkins Management Services, said the goal was to establish a restaurant that served a similar customer base to K&W Cafeteria. Like K&W, he said, Perkins would offer Southern staples at an affordable price.

Although the opening of the restaurant has been delayed for several months by a number of factors, that is still the goal.

“We appreciate the community’s patience with us,” said Barry McCauley Jr., executive vice president of Perkins Management Services. “We are excited to open and look forward to serving.”

One of the reasons for the delay was that Perkins had to make an unplanned name change. To avoid infringing the trademark of a restaurant chain with the same name found primarily in the Midwest, the restaurant coming to Salisbury will now be called Laurene’s Cafeteria. The new name comes from Nicholas Perkins’ grandmother, who instilled in him a love of cooking from an early age.

“That was her inspiration to combine her love for food and business,” McCauley said.

The name is shared by a restaurant in Charlotte, also owned by Perkins Management Services. However, the Salisbury and Charlotte locations will differ slightly in the fare they serve.

“The menu will be a little different because Charlotte’s is authentic Southern cuisine with a Southern Creole twist,” McCauley said. “This one will be more of that Southern cafeteria style.”

In May, Perkins described the upcoming menu as “upmarket” and offering a variety of starters, desserts and homemade breads.

A name change wasn’t the only factor that hindered the restaurant’s opening. A break-in in the boiler room that caused damage delayed things, as did widespread supply chain delays that hampered businesses across the country. McCauley said they are still waiting for kitchen equipment. There was a particularly long wait for the fryers, which are essential for preparing the types of food the restaurant will have on its menu.

“The supply issues have been a nightmare,” McCauley said.

Through it all, McCauley said Rowan County has been a patient and supportive partner.

In the meantime, Perkins Management Services has refreshed the interior of the building, removing mold from the walls and installing fresh wallpaper in its place. New graphics and signs were posted on the walls. The restaurant will be called Laurene’s Cafeteria, but some of the visuals bearing the Perkins name and logo will likely remain in the building.

McCauley said he expects a soft opening at Laurene’s cafeteria around Valentine’s Day on Feb. 14. The restaurant will soon begin hiring and training employees to fill approximately 25 positions. The plan is still to partner with Livingstone College’s hospitality program to bring in students to give them hands-on experience in a restaurant.

Laurene’s cafeteria will open before noon and close around 7 or 8 p.m. If demand emerges for breakfast, McCauley said the restaurant would also be ready to serve it.

“We seek to be a fixture in the community,” McCauley said.