By TOM JOYCE, The Mount Airy NewsA Cracker Barrel restaurant is on the menu for Mount Airy, city government sources say, which will serve up new jobs as well as home-style meals.Rumors have swirled for months about such a development, leading to steps recently being undertaken through the Mount Airy Planning Department to make the new restaurant a reality. Construction is expected to begin in February at a site on U.S. 601 (Rockford Street) near its intersection with U.S. 52.“The plans have gone through and they’ve been approved,” city planner Andy Goodall said Tuesday regarding the restaurant. Goodall’s work includes dealing with such projects, which must clear various regulatory hurdles."I think they’ve already gone through technical review,” Mount Airy Community-Development Director Martin Collins said Tuesday of the plans by Cracker Barrel Old Country Store.The restaurant will be built on a 2.85-acre site at 1948 Rockford St., the longtime home of Merritt Supply and Mount Airy Saw and Mower, two businesses that have shared the same building. Officials of those operations earlier announced plans to open at a new location on North South Street by this Friday.This paves the way for the new Cracker Barrel on Rockford Street/U.S. 601. To read more from The Mount Airy News, click here.