Becker Village Mall owner Ellen Heaton is excited.

Today pavement and dirt began moving for what will be the new Bojangles’.

Heaton said construction of the new restaurant should be completed in 12 weeks.

The new restaurant will be slightly larger and will feature the latest design with a few changes in the color scheme.

The existing building will be torn down once the new restaurant, which will front East Tenth Street, is built. The old restaurant will remain open during construction.

The new building will be 3,808 square feet, according to a building plan filed with the city.

With two new businesses announcing plans to locate in the mall, Heaton believes the new ventures can help each other. “Bojangles’ is in a really great location. It gets a lot of traffic and is always busy.”

She believes that will help generate more traffic to the mall, especially with Mount Olympus, a new gym, bringing in people with its more than 100 members since opening last month.

Sweet Tooth, a new bakery operated by Lisa Price, will open on May 1, beginning with Friday, Saturday and Sunday hours.

Sweet Tooth will feature freshly baked breads, pies, cakes and other baked goods which can be ordered in advance. “A lot of people can order something and stop and pick it up and there will be impulse buys from people shopping in the mall,” Heaton said.

Bounce N Bounce Party Zone will be opening Friday at 3 p.m. That business, run by Tare Davis, will feature amusements for children up to 12 as well as a place to have birthday and other parties.

Other events

On April 9 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. there will be a health and wellness fair where free screenings and tests will be offered. There will also be child abuse awareness booths at the mall.

The Easter bunny will be at the mall April 9 and an egg hunt will be held throughout the building while Cub Scouts will be cooking hot dogs and hamburgers outside. There will be amusements for children outside.