Customer Service: This Savannah Chick-fil-A aims to streamline drive-through traffic

Evan Lasseter, Savannah Morning News
Updated ·2 min read
A sign is displayed outside of Chick-fil-A on Victory Drive for the MPC meeting where a variance will be discussed regarding the drive thru and parking.
A sign is displayed outside of Chick-fil-A on Victory Drive for the MPC meeting where a variance will be discussed regarding the drive thru and parking.

The Chick-fil-A off Skidaway Road and Victory Drive is one step closer to an update it says will streamline drive-thru traffic after the Savannah-Chatham County Metropolitan Planning Commission unanimously approved a new site plan on Tuesday.

The updated site plan would allow for the Chick-fil-A's two drive-thru lines to wrap around the the north side of the building. Currently, the lanes taper into one on the building's Victory Drive side. During peak times, line traffic has often spilled out onto Victory Drive and through the neighboring Walgreens parking lot.

"That second lane would give us the freedom to be able to have relief from some of that," said Ann Collins, the restaurant's site manager.

More: Third Georgia Buc-ee's to break ground at the end of January

Signs direct customers to the Drive Thru lanes at Chick-fil-A on Victory Drive in Savannah.
Signs direct customers to the Drive Thru lanes at Chick-fil-A on Victory Drive in Savannah.

The Chick-fil-A is in the Victory Drive Shopping Plaza, which also has a Walgreens and Papa John's Pizza. The Walgreens sits southwest of the Chick-fil-A and has most commonly been impacted by the drive-thru lines, said Harold Yellin, the attorney representing Chick-fil-A's petition.

The addition of two-lanes around the building will allow for nine more cars in the line, Yellin said.

"These are the nine cars that stick out and go into the Wallgreens parking lot," Yellin said. "Those nine cars are now in our queue, in our building, and off of other people's property."

The proposed change comes as drive-thrus boomed during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, a trend Yellin said the company expects to continue. Chick-fil-A has more average cars in line than any other fast-food restaurant, according to QSR Magazine's 2023 Drive-Thru Report.

A representative of neighboring Walgreens approved the plans for the expanded drive-thru lanes, according to Chick-fil-A's site development permit application. The Planning Commission's approval Tuesday fell in line with MPC's staff recommendation on the item.

Evan Lasseter is the city and county government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at ELasseter@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah Chick-fil-A aims to streamline drive-through traffic