Second Chick-fil-A gets OK in Middletown. Here's what it needs to open and the timeline
A second Chick-fil-A will open in Middletown if the township supervisors approve plans for the drive-thru restaurant at the site of the former Ruby Tuesday on Lincoln Highway.
The township Zoning Hearing Board unanimously approved variances for the project Wednesday night. There were no objections filed by any members of the public.
The plan was presented by Wilkinson Langhorne L.P. which owns the land on which the closed Ruby Tuesday and a nearby Wells Fargo Bank is located, adjacent to the Lowe's home improvement store.
Off-duty officer would oversee traffic for first month
Richard Wilkinson testified that the parking lot for the entire shopping center allows for cross parking. A stipulation of the zoning approval is that Chick-fil-A will have an off-duty police officer on the site for the first 30 days after the Chick-fil-A opens to oversee the traffic situation.
Wilkinson said he expected the traffic light at the intersection at Lincoln Highway with both the Lowe's center and the Langhorne Square shopping center across the highway will have to be recalibrated to accommodate the Chick-fil-A traffic but there will be no more entrances added off the highway for the Chick-fil-A.
Second Chick-fil-A in Middletown
Chick-fil-A also operates a restaurant with drive-thru farther up Lincoln Highway at the Lincoln Plaza shopping center.
More: Is Chick-fil-A going to take former Ruby Tuesday site?
Wilkinson said the popular chicken eatery had planned to build previously on a small parcel of land owned by the Waterstone Group in the Langhorne Square shopping center but could not get the deal finalized after several years and about $1 million in expenses trying.
The former Ruby Tuesday would be demolished for the new Chick-fil-A, which expects to open in the fall of 2024 if its land development plans are approved by the township.
More: Middletown may not get that second Chick-fil-A after all; here's why and what's next
Wilkinson needed a special exception to build the restaurant on a 1.93 acre parcel of land that is partially zoned for manufacturing as well as for the parking ratio of 3.93 spaces where 4.5 per 1,000 square feet are required per the township code and for a 30-foot rear setback where 75 feet is required.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Chick-fil-A may open another site in Middletown next to Lowe's center
