LUMBERTON – Roberts Avenue, a bustling boulevard of fast food restaurants and other commercial retail establishments, is undergoing a new wave of business activity.

The new Chick-fil-A on Roberts, which is walk-up or drive-through only, has opened. The business has outside tables and chairs for those who want to eat on the premises.

That now gives Lumberton two of the popular chicken sandwich franchises.

The already established Chick-fil-A, which reopened in June following a 10-week renovation at 230 Jackson Court, offers indoor dining along with drive-through.

A new 7-Eleven convenience store and service station with a half-dozen gas pumps is scheduled to open at 6 a.m. Thursday.

The business, which will operate near the corner of Roberts Avenue and Fayetteville Road, features a couple of built-in fast food restaurant options.

The Laredo Taco Company and Raise the Roost Chicken & Biscuits that share space on the inside of the convenience store are in keeping with the company’s quick-service concept.

This will mark the first 7-Eleven convenience retail store with restaurant options in the Lumberton area.

Next to it, the property has been razed to make room for a new Scrubby’s Car Wash, said a 7-Eleven employee.

Ben Andrews, the director of the inspections department for the city of Lumberton, could not be reached late Tuesday afternoon to comment on the growth of new businesses cropping up at this time on Roberts Avenue.

A Highway 55 restaurant, which is known for its burgers, fries, shakes and cheesesteaks, is being built at the corner of Roberts Avenue and Walnut Street.

Bob Sowinski, the president and owner of the Greenville, South Carolina-based Net Lease Development Inc., said on Tuesday that this new Highway 55 will probably open sometime shortly after the first of the year.

In this case, he said, they had to have the Lumberton site rezoned.

Sowinski’s company is a build-to-suit retail developer for Highway 55, Burger King, Arby’s, Captain D’s, Zaxby’s, and the Schlotzskys and McAllister delis.

“We do a lot of build-quick service restaurants,” he said.

With its retro-themed look, Highway 55 is meant to offer a nostalgic dining experience, its website states.

Highway 55 used to have a restaurant next to Big Lots! in the Center Stage of Lumberton shopping center by Interstate 95.

Posted on the front entrance to that now shuttered restaurant is a sign that reads: “We apologize for any inconvenience but we are closed. Thank you.”

The new 7-Eleven isn’t the only new place selling gas at the pump on Roberts Avenue. Another service station is under construction by Cook Out and I-95.

Royal Farms, which is more familiar to northern motorists, could be opening for business right after the first of the year, according to Lonnie Deese, a foreman who was in the process of building a radius for the dining area of the establishment.

Royal Farms will have a chicken restaurant inside the store. This privately owned chain of convenience stores, which operates more than 200 locations, is headquartered in Baltimore.

Deese, who is from Lumberton, said Royal Farms is known for its chicken and potato wedges.

On the corporate website, Royal Farms promotes itself as serving “world famous chicken, sandwiches, snacks, the best brew in town and much more. ‘Eat, drink and be clucky.”