Thursday, November 2, 2023

[UPDATE] Planned Chick-fil-A Near Decatur Finally Moving Forward, But Without a Drive-Thru

Planning documents reviewed by ToNeTo Atlanta suggest that the planned relocation and expansion of one Atlanta area Chick-fil-A could happen soon.  ToNeTo Atlanta exclusively reported in July 2021 that Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A was looking to relocate their existing restaurant from 3905 North Druid Hills Road to 3795 North Druid Hills Road.  

The new site, currently home to a shuttered Pier 1 store, would allow the popular chicken chain to build a larger, more user-friendly restaurant that could better keep up with today's business volume.  DeKalb County records indicate the current Chick-fil-A was built in 1993.  

The existing Drive-Thru Only (DTO) Chick-fil-A is not even 1,200 square feet, whereas the new Chick-fil-A, featuring dine-in, carry-out, and a large patio, would span more than 5,000 square feet, according to planning documents. (The proposal pitched in 2021 was for a 2,800 square foot restaurant)  

The new Chick-fil-A will in fact not have a drive-thru.  A new report by our friends at Decaturish confirms this and we apologize for the confusion.  

(Between the current and upcoming Chick-fil-A restaurants, at 3823 North Druid Hills Road, the owners of Viral Solutions are looking to convert a former dry cleaners into a new drive-thru urgent care facility.  The business - Drive Thru Urgent Care by Viral Solutions - launched earlier this summer in West Midtown where the clinic occupies a converted Jimmy John's.)    

Chick-fil-A is seemingly going against industry trends, and at a time when practically all restaurants are going smaller - shrinking or eliminating their dining rooms - and focusing almost exclusively on drive-thru customers, Chick-fil-A is increasing the size of their restaurant and adding inside dining area seating where currently they lack.  

ToNeTo Atlanta has reported for several years now on the chain's "scrape & rebuilds" in metro Atlanta, where the company demolishes older restaurants and rebuilds them either on the same parcel or elsewhere nearby.  

North Druid Hills marks the first location we can recall where the company opted to rebuild a larger restaurant with a dining room in place of a DTO unit.  The company has in recent years completed scrape & rebuild projects of DTO units on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs, Cobb Parkway in Akers Mill Square and on Fairburn Road in Douglasville, among others.  

Chick-fil-A, which traces its roots to 1946 in Hapeville, today operates nearly 3,000 restaurants nationwide, about half of which seem to be in metro Atlanta.  That said, the chain is constantly finding room for new restaurants.  

ToNeTo Atlanta was first to report on the chain's plan to open a new non-traditional unit along Peachtree Road in Buckhead.  The company is also opening a similar unit along Ponce de Leon Avenue near Ponce City Market.  Chick-fil-A is also rebuilding a bigger restaurant on a larger parcel in Buckhead where they purchased and demolished an adjacent lot formerly home to a longstanding package store.  

Are you excited for the planned relocation and expansion of Chick-fil-A on North Druid Hills near North DeKalb Mall?  What is your favorite chicken chain?  What would you like to see open in place of the current DTO Chick-fil-A?

Please share your thoughts below  

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am so excited to read this!

Anonymous said...

“The company is also opening a similar unit along Ponce de Leon Avenue near Ponce City Market.”—this location is already open.

Anonymous said...

I am not excited about the new build. Traffic on North Druid Hills in that area is such a nightmare, particularly in the afternoon. I can only imagine having a larger version of Chick fil A there will intensify the traffic situation. There is no opportunity for a traffic light, but there is a residential neighborhood directly across the street. I think Dekalb county should have kept this space retail instead of rezoning it.

Anonymous said...

Where is this information coming from? There is no current proposal listed on the county website for rezoning as the property is currently not zoned for a drive thru.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if Chick-fil-A will be paying for the police presence needed to direct traffic at the Buckhead Piedmont Hospital location that replaces the former location plus the package store. just a few yards from there every single day there’s police presence to direct traffic in and out of the parking lots and drop off locations for the Piedmont healthcare buildings. I sure do love their lemonade! Yup yup!

Anonymous said...

The new Decatur location replacing the shuttered pier 1 imports, should be a really good location for cfa, Regardless of the mall behind it being absolute blight. Did they ever approve or receive a go ahead on the redevelopment of the mall? CFA must know something.

Anonymous said...

They’re lining up the entrance with the red light hence the reason they added the old liquor store parcel, so maybe that will help.

Anonymous said...

It’s actually not - they’re putting a second location where Dugan’s used to be

Anonymous said...

The location at the corner of Boulevard and Ponce is open. Less than 1/2 mile from Ponce City Market. The old Dugans is 1/2 mile away from this Chick fil a. Why put two brand new locations only 1/2 mile apart.

Anonymous said...

I heard that the mall was going to become a large petting zoo with snack bar that sells spaghetti and meatballs and peachy pancakes.

Mary said...

Chick Fil A has the best team behind them! They are innovative and whatever they come up with is an improvement in the food industry. Other restaurant chains should sneak an employee into Chick Dil A’s staff to get their training manual (none better) and their secrecy’s to success!

Anonymous said...

I agree and the Dil piggle on the bunz are swell. Get the book of resapies too, how to make a chocken sandwhic

Anonymous said...

This sucks

Anonymous said...

Because it's Chik-fil-A, so both will be busy.

Anonymous said...

I don't understand the pushback from the people who live near N. Dekalb Mall. It is ridiculous to think that just because they build a physically larger store that more people will come. That CFA right now is extremely busy and it is very dangerous to get in and out of since it is so close to the light at L'ville Hwy and N. Druid Hills. The new location is better because you will be able to get in and out at the traffic light that is next to the Pier One building.

Anonymous said...

Have you never been to a Chik-fil-A? They could build them right next to one another and they'd both be packed.

Anonymous said...

That’s great! Sounds like fun. I can’t wait

Anonymous said...

This thread has deteriorated really fast. 0 to 60 in one click.

Anonymous said...

I agree. It will also be better for the employees who won’t have to be crammed in a tight space in the second drive thru window anymore.

Anonymous said...

Nov 6 @ 8:02, good thing I wasn't drinking anything when I read your post! Good one!

Anonymous said...

I’ve been to paradise, but I’ve never been to me. Or Chick fil a.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...