CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A south Charlotte Chick-fil-A got the approval to tear down its existing location off Woodlawn Road and build a drive-thru only location.
At this location, Chick-fil-A said 83 percent of its business is drive-thru or carry-out.
Drivers are caught in a traffic nightmare daily outside of the restaurant, with the line of cars in the drive-thru running over into Woodlawn Road and causing major backups.
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“Coming in off the street's crazy, because you're blocking traffic. Anything better than this would be helpful,” said customer Jordan Cheeks.
Cheeks said he uses the drive-thru at least once a week and is looking forward to a new layout at the restaurant, one that doesn’t include a lot of parking.
Chick-fil-A said it wants to tear down the existing restaurant and replace it with a brand-new building. The new building will have no indoor dining, only tables outside.
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Currently, all orders go through one drive-thru window, but the new plan includes two lanes that would merge at the pick-up window.
Chick-fil-A said it believes this model will help keep traffic on its property and not on Woodlawn Road.
The company said the changes include a more efficient kitchen that would allow workers to get food out faster.
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The proposal does not include changes to Woodlawn Road, but it does ask for a planting strip and an eight-foot sidewalk to help with pedestrian traffic.
City council unanimously approved the rezoning request Monday night