Chick-fil-A will create a new flow for drive-thru customers and add additional green space at the location at 1235 William D. Tate Ave. in Grapevine.
The Grapevine City Council and planning and zoning commission jointly approved a conditional use permit request from the Georgia-based company at the March 17 meeting.
The change will involve tearing down the former location, which is situated next to the current one. According to the presentation, there will be additional parking added by combining lots 2 and 3.
According to previous reporting, plans for the current location was approved in 2020. Overall, the William D. Tate Avenue store has been in operation for 33 years.
The gist
Kristen Spears, from Little Diversified Architectural Consulting, said the change will help maintain safe vehicle flow and reduce the potential for vehicle stacking. The proposed changes would increase the queue length to accommodate the drive-thru customer and reduce the likelihood of stacking toward internal drive aisles and adjacent properties.
The restaurant, which serves chicken nuggets, sandwiches, tenders, wraps and salads, frequently prepares orders and has them ready by the time vehicles arrive at the pickup area, according to the letter.
The changes Spears listed include:
- Improving internal circulation
- Enhancing pedestrian and employee safety within the drive-thru area
- Minimizing the potential for stacking or off-site backup during peak operating periods
Zooming in
The former Chick-fil-A location will be transitioned to landscaped green space, and by combining lots 2 and 3, 17 parking spaces will be added for a total of 64 spots, according to the presentation.
Spears wrote that the changes will allow for a more clearly defined experience for dine-in patrons and drive-thru customers.
The realignment of the drive-thru will have customers circle the location of the previous building. A dedicated mobile pickup order drive-thru lane for preplaced orders will be added to the east side of the existing building and will be separate from traditional drive-thru orders, according to the presentation.
What they're saying
“We're excited about these proposals,” owner/operator Javis Boyd said. “I think the first thing we're thinking about is safety. If you've ever been to our parking lot, our dine-in traffic has to navigate through our current drive-thru lane. From a safety perspective, I'm thinking about young kids having to cross over in that drive-thru traffic. Through this proposal, you're seeing the drive-thru lane move to the outer side of the lot and the people who are going into the dining room do not have to navigate that. It also allows us efficiencies from the drive-thru, where people aren't having to stop and start again with customers walking across. From a safety and efficiency standpoint, this looks like a really big win for us.”
