Chick-fil-A’s endeavor to establish an expansive restaurant featuring a playground and two drive-through lanes in a compact Tennessee town faced an abrupt stop. The fast-food franchise aimed to build a 6,110-square-foot establishment in Collierville, a small village situated approximately 30 minutes away from Memphis.
The proposed restaurant would boast a sizable outdoor seating area, a playground, an employee meeting room, and two drive-thru lanes designed to accommodate up to 43 cars. The intended restaurant would supersede a current site on Poplar Avenue, nearly doubling its size.
However, in a vote conducted on Monday, the Collierville Board of Mayor and Aldermen rejected these proposals, with a 5-1 vote against approving the preliminary site plan for the project.
Mayor Stan Joyner, along with Aldermen Billy Patton, John Worley, John Stamps, and Missy Marshall, voted against the proposal. On the contrary, Aldermen Maureen Fraser stood as the sole supporter.
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The aldermen who opposed the site plan echoed the worries expressed by attending residents, mainly focusing on concerns related to traffic and safety.
“We have an obligation as elected officials to put safety first,” Marshall said, adding, “There are a lot of assumptions being made. But regarding safety, I don’t want to make any assumptions.”
They were convinced that relocating the well-liked restaurant to the suggested site on Bray Station Road would exacerbate congestion on an already bustling street, posing a safety risk.
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Grant Gibbs, the proprietor and operator of the Chick-fil-A in Collierville, revealed that discussions about constructing a new location had been ongoing for almost a decade.
“We trusted in the experts,” Gibbs said, adding, “The town engineer and staff have done a great job working alongside those folks and coming up with can and cannot work.”
He continued his statement, “I respectfully present to the board that this plan can succeed. I am committed to staying; my intention is to remain the franchise owner, ideally for the rest of my life.”
In a prior meeting on December 7, the chain secured approval to relocate the existing Chick-fil-A to a new site at Bray Station. In that meeting, Gibbs mentioned that as a long-time resident, he had personally observed the town’s growth. He concluded that the current store was experiencing capacity issues based on his observations.
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“Almost a decade ago, we started this conversation, and started working with the town, started working with other experts and trying to figure out what we could do to better utilize our space there,” he said.
“At the end of the day, what we came up to was that we had to relocate.”
He added that the chain had tried to find ‘creative solutions’ to handle demand, including curbside pickup and an online ordering app.
“I will continue to be the person that works with the town. I will continue to be the person that represents Chick-fil-A but represents the town of Collierville as a resident and a lifelong member of this community,” Gibbs said.
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