Chick-fil-A favors former N. Delsea Drive bowling alley in Glassboro for next location

Joseph P. Smith, Cherry Hill Courier-Post
·2 min read

GLASSBORO — Chick-fil-A is savoring a potential new location at what was Glassboro Bowl & Recreation Center at 503 North Delsea Drive, with a detailed proposal recently submitted to the borough.

“The area presents a tremendous opportunity to serve our customers,” company spokeswoman Jazmyne Hankerson said. “We look forward to working through the approval process with the City of Glassboro and are excited by the prospect of joining this community in spring 2024.”

The Zoning Board is to consider final site plan approval for the restaurant at its hearing May 18. A fast-food restaurant already is a preliminarily approved concept for the property, which still sports a towering monument sign advertising the demolished bowling alley.

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Chick-fil-A would be neighbors with a Matt Blatt Dealership, which expanded its operation onto the property a few years ago. The property is bounded by North Delsea Drive and North Main Street, both heavily traveled.

The dealership showroom was slightly enlarged in the process, but the dealership used most of the parcel to create parking for customers and vehicle inventory.

Glassboro Bowl & Recreation Center at 503 North Delsea Drive was demolished but its monument sign. The center's demise allowed an expansion of the Matt Blatt Dealership at 503 North Delsea Drive while preserving space for a fast food restaurant in the future. PHOTO: May 8, 2023.
Glassboro Bowl & Recreation Center at 503 North Delsea Drive was demolished but its monument sign. The center's demise allowed an expansion of the Matt Blatt Dealership at 503 North Delsea Drive while preserving space for a fast food restaurant in the future. PHOTO: May 8, 2023.

SWAB Enterprises is the property owner, purchasing it in September 2019 with intention to expand the dealership. The Ocean City company obtained around the same time preliminary zoning approval to use a section for an unspecified restaurant.

The original approval was for a 7,340-square-foot restaurant with one drive-thru lane. The Chick-fil-A would be smaller at 5,400 square feet, accommodating 86 seats. It would have two drive-thru lanes, reflecting a trend in the past few years of customers preferring to pick up orders than to eat inside.

The restaurant also would have two spaces for electrical vehicles, according to the proposal, reflecting another trend with Chick-fil-A.

SWAB Enterprises, which also owns the dealership property, is making the application on behalf of Chick-fil-A. The company owners are Roy, Alex, and Matthew Greenblatt.

Other Chick-fil-A sites in Gloucester County include one nearby on Woodbury-Glassboro Road in Mantua, as well as two in Deptford.

The same vicinity of North Delsea Drive also has attracted interest from another chicken-flavored restaurant chain, Raising Cane’s.

A report to the Zoning Board in January said Raising Cane’s is considering demolishing a former Rite Aid pharmacy at 695 North Delsea Drive, at the corner of Donald Barger Boulevard. No plan has been submitted, though.

Site plan for a proposed Chick-fil-A to be built at 503 North Delsea Drive in Glassboro, using a portion of the property that held a bowling alley until its demolition a few years ago. The borough Zoning Board is to hear a final site plan application at its meeting May 18, 2023. PHOTO: May 8, 2023.
Site plan for a proposed Chick-fil-A to be built at 503 North Delsea Drive in Glassboro, using a portion of the property that held a bowling alley until its demolition a few years ago. The borough Zoning Board is to hear a final site plan application at its meeting May 18, 2023. PHOTO: May 8, 2023.

Joe Smith is a N.E. Philly native transplanted to South Jersey more than 30 years ago, keeping an eye now on government in South Jersey. He is a former editor and current senior staff writer for The Daily Journal in Vineland, Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, and the Burlington County Times.

Have a tip? Reach out at jsmith@thedailyjournal.com. Help support local journalism with a subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Glassboro considering Chick-fil-A proposal at North Delsea Drive site