The Chick-fil-A for Annandale - more work needed on traffic plan

An illustration of the proposed Chick-fil-A.

The Chick-fil-A proposal for Little River Turnpike where the now-vacant antique center is located calls for a 4,300-square-foot restaurant with a separate kiosk for drive-through food orders.

Staff would take orders and fill drinks at the kiosk while the food would be delivered there via an overhead conveyer system, explained the company’s attorney Sheri Akin, at a meeting of the Mason District Land Use Committee Sept. 24. 

The proposed circulation plan.

There would be two drive-through lanes, handling 25 cars at a time and 43 spaces. Employees would also take customers’ orders and collect payments outside via iPad. Eventually, diners inside the restaurant could use a phone app to place orders and pay.

The MDLUC members weren’t happy with Chick-fil-A’s proposal for access and circulation, which calls for reducing the number of entrances on Little River Turnpike from two to one and opening a new access point to the Speedway service station next door.

Several committee members pointed out that the Speedway is often crowded and the access point would be blocked. The company is expected to rework the circulation plan before coming back to the MDLUC.

While the county’s Comprehensive Plan for Annandale says new development should urban-oriented and not auto-centric, the Chick-fil-A proposal does include some preferred elements: The restaurant would be close to the street, the drive-through would be at the rear of the property, there would be a pocket park with benches and bike parking, and sidewalk would be widened to 10 feet.

Proposed site improvements include a new turn lane and median on Little River Turnpike, 38 new trees, and landscaping.

Like all Chick-fil-A restaurants, it would be open 6 a.m.-10 p.m. and would be closed on Sundays. There would be about 70 to 80 employees with about 15 per shift.

The Chick-fil-A proposal is expected to go the Planning Commission on Dec. 4 and the Board of Supervisors on Jan. 14, 2020.

The MDLUC also heard two other presentations:

• A proposal for the Seven Corners Fire Station to use the temporary fire station on South Street while its building on Sleepy Hollow Road is remodeled and expanded.
• A proposal to update the McDonalds at 4803 Leesburg Pike.