Students will be able to hear the greeting, “Welcome to Moe’s” a little closer to campus pretty soon.

After months of a “Moe’s Coming Soon” sign hanging over the building that formerly housed Qdoba on The Strip, Moe’s Southwest Grill will be able to remove that sign and open their doors Feb. 9.

“There were talks of Moe’s opening late last year, but there was conflict with the previous contractor, so that somewhat delayed the opening,” said Steve Hamner, general manager of Moe’s in Tuscaloosa.

Currently, there is one Moe’s in Tuscaloosa located on McFarland Boulevard, and this will be the second location Hamner will manage.

The Strip, being so close to the University, lends a great benefit to many of the businesses that choose to open there because it grants convenient opportunities for lunch dates and time to study between classes.

Hamner came on the project in the middle of November and has been working on the progress and negotiations since then.

“Our McFarland location is so popular with the students in town,” he said. “They make up a large percentage of our business.”

Chrissy Coble, a senior majoring in elementary education, frequents the McFarland location with friends and said she is excited there is a location coming closer to campus.

“I think it is a great addition to The Strip,” she said.

After the Moe’s on The Strip opens and gets established, it will begin to offer a delivery service that will be convenient to students on and around campus, Hamner said. This will bring competition to the businesses that offer delivery services on The Strip, such as Jimmy John’s and Lai Lai.

“I will visit there because it is a lot closer to campus and my classes other than the other Moe’s,” Coble said.

Dorie Kogut, a sophomore majoring in political science, said she’ll be visiting the new Moe’s.

“[I’m] glad it is finally opening,” said Dorie Kogut, a sophomore majoring in political science.

Kogut lives close to The Strip and would be in close distance to walk to the new Moe’s location, and she said it would be great for dinners with friends during the week.

“It’s a perfect location for those people who live on The Strip to go to eat,” she said. “It beats having to drive farther to go to other places.”

Moe’s coming to The Strip not only presents students with the chance to enjoy the “Homewrecker” burrito, but it also presents job opportunities.

“Most recently, we have done the bulk of our hiring,” Hamner said. “Now we are busy doing so in-store training to prepare the new employees for the opening soon.”

Hamner said the student population makes up about 50 percent of their workforce at the new Moe’s location.

Moe’s will still offer catering services only from the McFarland location.