Chesterfield Chick Fil-A Doubling Up on Drive-Thru

Any fast food fan knows that the Chick Fil-A in Chesterfield is a popular spot, with lunchtime seeing hordes of on-the-go diners filling up its single drive-thru lane.

The restaurant is hoping to remedy some of the congestion caused by the rush later this year with the addition of a dual drive-thru system. The plans for the upgrade were approved by the Chesterfield Planning Commission Monday.

Owner-operator Jeff Greene said space restrictions mean the drive thru won’t have two lanes all the way around, but instead the single lane will split briefly, allowing customers to order from two separate speaker boxes, and then merge back together.

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Greene added that the system is more about helping customers experience less of wait than increasing the number who visit each day, especially during the hours of noon-2 p.m.

“It helps balance out the flow a little bit,” he said. “It will be a lot less congested, more organized and more smooth.”

It’s a model that is fast becoming an industry standard. According to Greene, two years ago Chick Fil-A started mandating that all new construction include double drive-thrus.

While planning for the project is still in its preliminary stages, Greene said he hopes to be finished in time for the Christmas shopping season this fall. He didn’t say whether or not the construction will require the restaurant be closed at any point but said customers can expect “some disruption.”

It’s not necessarily a surprise that the fast food restaurant needs to upgrade its drive thru capacity. Of the city’s 150 restaurants, Chick Fil-A usually ranks third or fourth in terms of total sales, behind Annie Gunn’s and the Cheesecake Factory in the one and two slots, according to Chesterfield City Administrator Michael Herring.

Planning documents on file with the city indicate that 477 square feet of extra kitchen space will be added. Because the addition to the building’s footprint requires there be more green space, the current outdoor seating area will be demolished and replaced with landscaping.

Since it’s only to the restaurant’s site plan and not its zoning, the change did not require a vote by the city council.