An early rendering of a Van Ness Chick-fil-A and drive-thru, as viewed from above.
by Marlene Berlin
Chick-fil-A still doesn’t get it.
Representatives of the restaurant chain were out in full force at the April 19th ANC 3F meeting. Corporate Chick-fil-A showed up this time, along with franchise owners from the Columbia Heights and Bowie, Maryland locations. An engineer and transportation consultants were there for backup. This would be their third presentation before the ANC about their plans to take over the present Burger King site and drive-thru. (View the Livestream here, presentation begins at 1:10:30)
They came to address issues raised by the ANC and community members when Chick-fil-A’s traffic consultants gave their report to ANC 3F in February. So one might think they’d talk about pedestrian safety – which had been left out of the original plan entirely. But no. Again, the presentation focused on vehicle traffic control. It was as if pedestrians did not exist or were such a minor factor, they were not worth considering.
As I listened to them explain in great detail how cars could be handled efficiently in the queue, I realized they were still viewing this location through one lens – a car-centered one – and in an urban area, no less.
But in addition to attracting more motorists (200 to 300% more), the new restaurant presumably would also attract more pedestrians. Chick-fil-A has mentioned in great detail how many cars they expect through the drive-thru at peak times. However, the company has not mentioned how much walk-in traffic it hopes to attract.
So I decided to ask about their expectations in generating pedestrian traffic. I did not think this was an unreasonable question since we have more than 30 high-rise residential buildings lining Connecticut Avenue in ANC 3F, and most are within a ten-minute walk of this site.
John Martinez, Chick-fil-A’s development manager, responded that the pedestrian traffic along Connecticut Avenue currently could not support this restaurant. I tried again. He said this was proprietary information that they could not reveal. This I did not quite understand since they provided projections for drive-thru traffic. I tried a different tack, asking about comparisons to their other urban models. They responded that they could not make comparisons given this location was so unique. I countered that with that fact they had compared this location to suburban areas that also are unlike Van Ness.
Finally, Nathaniel Coates, Chick-fil-A’s architectural design manager, admitted they did have high hopes for pedestrian traffic. Chick-fil-A plans substantial renovations – almost a complete tear-down of the existing building, and adding an outdoor café. It would not be making this kind of investment unless it expected a substantial number of dine-in and take out customers. But in the end they could not or did not want to provide the numbers of pedestrians they expected to generate.
Whether pedestrians will feel welcome is another question. Increased pedestrian and motorist traffic will lead to an increase in pedestrian and motorist conflicts where the drive-thru meets the sidewalk.
DDOT’s Public Space Committee is scheduled to decide the drive-thru question at its meeting tomorrow (April 28th). Several community members, including our ANC commissioners will be giving testimony and presenting a petition in opposition to the drive-thru.
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Diana Hart says
Their arrogance is almost sickening.
Isabelle Daverne says
And also, what about pollution because of the fumes coming from the cars- especially if the cars are idling. Then there is the eye sore.
MS says
If you object to cars idling, then you should support removing all and any stop lights on Connecticut Ave and making it into a freeway between downtown and the Maryland border.
MS says
Much ado over nothing — and frankly, I think most of the opposition to Chick-Fil-A has do with the corporate owner’s politics, not some bogus concern over pedestrians. CFA stores thrive in urban areas — you can’t even get into the one on Rockville Pike on Saturdays, the line is so long. Pedestrians in cities are already used to dealing with driveways, both from businesses (such as the long-time car wash on the same block) and from high rise residential buildings. We don’t need to be protected like preschoolers crossing a street. I support Chick-Fil-A moving into this site, and I pray that Berlin’s opposition to this won’t result in yet another empty building on Connecticut Ave.
Tracy J. says
How many people walk by and to the Chick-fil-A in Rockville? It’s not what I’d describe as an “urban” setting.
MS says
It will be when they finish the nearby high rise buildings. And even more when MoCo rebuilds that section of Rockville Pike.
And the new Chick-Fil-A in downtown Silver Spring is urban by ANY measure.
Tracy J. says
The Silver Spring location IS urban – and it’s a walk-up store.
The community would not oppose a walk-up location. There’s no groundswell of opposition for the Chick-fil-A store planned for Tenleytown or the one that opened late last year in Columbia Heights.
Tracy J. says
Semi-related: http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/breaking_ground/2016/04/fast-food-it-s-what-s-in-the-way-of-development.html
Wouldn’t this be ideal for Van Ness? Instead of another drive-thru at the Burger King site build mixed-use retail and residential: Apartments above with Chick-fil-A bulding its nest below. It would increase the population density near Metro and guarantee an increase in foot traffic to sustain the stores and restaurants in the neighborhood.
John says
Your estimation is inaccurate. A brief review of the articles and comments on Forest Hills Connection would indicate that the vast majority of criticism is of the drive thru. Just because one is used to it, doesn’t make it ideal or desirable. Just because one can deal with it, doesn’t mean they should have to.
Also, what retail space has been empty for a significant period of time?
Jon says
Don’t let Chick-fil-A fool you. There is absolutely no reason why they need a drive-thru to operate at a profit. They have had a franchise for the last couple of years in a strip mall in Tysons. If they can operate without a drive-thru in the most car-centric of locations in metro DC, they can certainly operate without one on Connecticut Ave.
Michael Chorost says
Chik-fil-A has a notorious record of supporting antigay groups.
Wikipedia: “Chick-fil-A has donated over $5 million, via WinShape, to groups that oppose same-sex marriage..A total of $1.9 million was donated in 2010 to groups such as the Marriage & Family Foundation, Exodus International and the Family Research Council. That year, the FRC was listed as an anti-gay hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.”
This business has no business in our neighborhood, which is overwhelmingly progressive and supportive of civil rights for all people.