A popular national restaurant chain is getting closer to opening a new Sarasota County location.
Venice-area property owners had the opportunity to speak with Bowman Consulting Group about the installation of a new Chick-fil-A in a neighborhood meeting on June 4.
The proposed fast-food location is planned to be in the developing 83-acre Venice Crossing Commercial Center on Laurel Road, and would be the fourth Chick-fil-A in Sarasota County.
The neighborhood meeting was held to discuss the site plan for the popular chain and answer questions from local community members.
What can be expected from the new Chick-fil-A site?
Plans were presented and questions answered by Jose De Bourg, a civil engineer II at Bowman Consulting Group, and John Lapins, executive managing director of development and construction at SteeleHarbour.
The Chick-fil-A will be a 5,118-square-foot restaurant with a drive-thru built on 2.03 acres.
The drive-thru will be two lanes and able to accommodate 37 cars at a time. There will be two canopies over the lanes, the first at the ordering point and the next at the pickup window.
Employees will take orders throughout the drive-thru and direct vehicles, consistent with the chain’s typical drive-thru operation.
The Chick-fil-A would not have direct access from Laurel Road and instead would be accessed via private internal roads within the commercial center. It will be bordered by Laurel Road and the new private Chillingham Avenue and Holstein Street.
Landscaping will be installed around the property to separate it from Laurel Road.
De Bourg and Lapins confirmed plans for the Chick-fil-A will be submitted to the City of Venice next week, with De Bourg commenting that it “will go through massive review processes with the city.”
Chick-fil-A will also approve the development plans.
How will traffic and parking be affected by the new Chick-fil-A?
Concerns were raised by community members about the efficiency of traffic and parking with the new major development.
The Chick-fil-A’s role in this will be included in the traffic impact report for the Venice Crossing development as a whole. The fast-food chain will not conduct a separate one.
Within the complex, parking plans are also being discussed. Panda Express is already approved for 38 parking spots, 33 percent more than the maximum parking allowed for an establishment of its size.
Venice Crossing has also already been approved for a Home Depot and Walmart, both requiring lots of parking. The Chick-fil-A will accommodate 68 parking spots, many of which are ADA-compliant.
Attorney Jackson Boone announced several dining locations for the center in a Venice Planning Commission meeting on June 2, including a Whataburger, Texas Roadhouse and Chipotle, all of which will also require their own parking.
De Bourg and Lapins discussed plans for a traffic light at Laurel Road and Chillingham Avenue that has already been approved by Sarasota County to be installed at the end of the summer and turned on by the county at a later date.
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Major fast-food chain moves closer to Sarasota County site
Reporting by Michaela Galligan, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Michaela Galligan, Sarasota Herald-Tribune | USA TODAY Network
