When Marsha Wood and her husband Fred Olive returned to Ozark last year, whispers of rumors immediately began as to where their next restaurant would pop up. Those questions were answered Saturday when Rumors on the Square opened in Downtown Troy.

Wood was known as the owner of “Our Place” restaurant in Ozark, an eatery she said was nearly identical to the newest place to dine downtown.

She didn’t always love the restaurant business though, she said. “I grew up in the restaurant business. I hated it.”

When Wood was 17, she married and stayed out of the restaurant business for many years, but returned in some form to the industry as a waitress in Ozark after moving there to be closer to her children.

“A waitress will develop a following if you’re any good,” Wood said. So when her husband suggested opening a restaurant in 2008, she quit her job as a waitress and opened Our Place, bringing her faithful customers with her.

Wood and Olive sold the restaurant and moved to Tennessee for a short time before deciding to return home to Ozark. When they returned, they began looking for a place to start their next restaurant.

“We looked around Dothan and Troy, but we just fell in love with the Square,” Wood said. “Our hope is to bring a lot of people from Ozark here. A lot of people down there don’t realize this is here. A lot of them are waiting for the rush to die down before they come.”

Wood asked for customers to remain patient as the wait staff and cooks are being trained with the rush causing delays in getting food out.

“They’re just killing us right now,” Wood said. “None of our food is frozen. It is all made from scratch. We just need some time to get things smoothed out.”

The restaurant is located on the corner of the Square where Milky Moo’s was once located. It is open from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.