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Spokane denies application for Chick-fil-A restaurant on South Hill

Traffic on the Newport Highway, at right, approaches the Chick-fil-A fast food restaurant, wrapping around the block and weaving through the parking lot in north Spokane on Dec. 1, 2020. It was the opening day for the popular chicken sandwich franchise in Spokane. (Jesse Tinsley/THE SPOKESMAN-REVI)
By Kip Hill kiphillreporter@gmail.com(509) 459-5429

The city of Spokane rejected a proposed Chick-fil-A restaurant on the South Hill because of parking.

Developers seeking to put the restaurant on a vacant lot at the busy intersection of 29th Avenue and Regal Street in the Lincoln Heights area ran into zoning requirements that prohibit the amount of parking they requested.

“The proposed project does nothing to enhance the environment for people outside of automobiles,” reads a letter dated Nov. 29 and sent to 4G Development & Consulting, Inc., the developer of the project.

The company had proposed to build a 4,987-square-foot drive-thru restaurant in an area the neighborhood had designated for mixed-use development promoting walking and public transportation. With that designation came limits on how many parking spots could be constructed on the spot.

Initial plans for the building, the second planned Chick-fil-A in the area, called for 113 parking spots on the site. That would have exceeded the allowable parking spots on the site by 93, a concern the city initially conveyed to the developer at a meeting in August, according to city records.

The developer had 14 days to appeal the denial to the city’s hearing examiner. A virtual meeting was held last Friday with the developer, but Tuesday’s deadline came and went without an appeal, said Kirstin Davis, communications manager for the city’s Public Works and Economic & Community Development divisions.

A request for comment from 4G Development & Consulting, which is based in San Diego, was not immediately returned Thursday.

The plans would have also called for demolition of buildings on the site to make way for the drive-thru, including the South Hill Grill, serving an eclectic menu out of a building originally built on the property in 1976.

The South Hill Grill is in the process of moving to a new location, the space formerly owned by Rock City Grill at 2911 E. 57th Ave. Rock City turned the keys over to the South Hill Grill earlier this month.

“When we said that we would be closing, our clientele lost it,” said Chelsea Struck, general manager at the South Hill Grill, in between serving customers Thursday afternoon.

The South Hill Grill’s final day at its original location will be Dec. 24, Struck said. The plan is for the new location to be fully opened by New Year’s Day.

“It’s a great opportunity, with more space, and we know we are going to be secure,” Struck said. “New adventure, new year.”

Chick-fil-A never officially confirmed they were eyeing a location on the South Hill, though planning documents submitted by the developer included the company’s logo. The drive-thru would have been configured in an L-shape on the south side of the restaurant’s footprint off 29th Avenue, according to initial site plans submitted to the city. City building regulations would have prohibited a drive-thru lane adjacent to 29th without a buffer.

Chick-fil-A built its first restaurant in Spokane at 9304 N. Newport Highway. It opened its doors in December 2020.