A national restaurant chain is looking to build in Hermitage if it can get a zoning variance from the city.

Bob Evans Farms Inc. is looking to build a restaurant at the Hermitage Square plaza on South Hermitage Road. The Columbus, Ohio, company is seeking a variance to have a 25-foot setback instead of the required 50-foot setback, according to the Hermitage Zoning Hearing Board.

Founded in 1953, the restaurant chain owns and operates 509 family-style restaurants in 22 states under the Bob Evans and Owens restaurant names. Bob Evans restaurants are primarily located along the East Coast and in the Mid-Atlantic states, while Owens Restaurants operate in Texas.

National City Bank is also seeking a variance to build a small office at the northwest corner of the Shenango Valley Mall parking lot, directly south of Hickory United Methodist Church. The bank wants a 35-foot setback instead of the required 50 feet and a waiver of the required buffer yard requirements on the north property line.

Also, Paul Murko of Mercer, who wants to put a restaurant in the former home of Hickory Veterans of Foreign Wars at 3601 E. State St., is seeking a variance for 46 parking spaces instead of the required 82 and a variance or an interpretation to allow cars to park on an adjacent lot not more than 200 feet from the site of the proposed restaurant.

The board will hold a public hearing on the requests at 7 p.m. March 10.