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Construction work has started on a planned Perkins restaurant in Apalachin. [Bob Joseph/WNBF News][/caption]

After a lengthy delay, work has begun on a planned Perkins Restaurant and Bakery in Tioga County.

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A truck from F.S. Lopke Incorporated of Apalachin delivered material to the project site. [Bob Joseph/WNBF News][/caption]

Plans for the new restaurant in Apalachin were announced last July but site preparation at the site only got underway within the last few weeks.

The business is to be located next to the Comfort Inn hotel on Route 434, just east of the Southern Tier Expressway interchange. The site is adjacent to the existing Blue Dolphin Diner.

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Work on the future Perkins Restaurant building began in December. [Bob Joseph/WNBF News][/caption]

Owego Town Supervisor Donald Castellucci said construction crews have been working on the foundation of the new building in recent days.

Speaking on WNBF Radio's Binghamton Now program Monday, Castellucci said the Perkins project previously had received all of the necessary approvals from the town. He said he wasn't sure what held up the start of work on the new restaurant.

Beth Ann Smith, president of Rajumaanar Enterprises, had expected construction could get underway by late August.

Smith Monday afternoon told WNBF News she now anticipates the construction work will be completed by mid-April. She said the restaurant's opening is scheduled for the end of April.

In an interview last summer, Smith said the 4,800-square-foot Perkins restaurant would be open 24 hours a day. She expected the business would employ between 50 and 60 people.

Smith also had indicated her company was looking into other possible site for additional Perkins restaurants in the region.

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The new restaurant is being built as a stand-alone building next to the Comfort Inn. [Bob Joseph/WNBF News][/caption]

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