Chick-fil-A continues to expand its local footprint across, with resurrected plans for a Glendale restaurant, but at a different location than originally planned.
The Atlanta, Georgia-based company recently purchased property at 5201 N. Port Washington Road, where it plans to build a new drive-thru-only restaurant with dual drive-thru lanes and a 38-stall parking lot. The nearly 1-acre parcel was sold for $2.12 million by Milwaukee-based R & Z Holdings LLC, according to state records.
The planned 2,781-square-foot stand-alone Chick-fil-A will replace the property’s existing 6,956-square-foot building, which most recently housed a cosmetic surgery clinic. Prior to that, it was a Denny’s restaurant and another restaurant called Barnaby’s, according to city documents.
Chick-fil-A’s project, which was approved by the city last fall, is the company’s second run at entering the Glendale market. Its first attempt was in February 2019, with its proposal of a 5,000-square-foot restaurant at 5464 N. Port Washington Road – just a few blocks north of its current development site.
Those original plans were not well received by the city, and about two years later, Topper’s Pizza and Planet Smoothie moved in to the property’s multi-tenant retail strip.
Since entering the Wisconsin market in 2014, Chick-fil-A has seen rapid expansion in the Milwaukee area. It now has restaurants in Menomonee Falls, Delafield, Oak Creek, Mount Pleasant, Pleasant Prairie, Greendale, West Allis, Pewaukee, two in Brookfield, and a vendor stand at Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee.
The Glendale location will be its first drive-thru-only restaurant in the Midwest. It will not have indoor or outdoor seating, and the company estimates 90% of the orders will be placed ahead of time via mobile app app or phone. The restaurant will have at least 15 employees.
