This Fresno drive-thru gets long lines. Here’s why it’s a problem, and a plan to fix it
Ask any Fresnan what the busiest drive-thru restaurant in town is and Chick-fil-A is likely to land on the list, along with In-N-Out and Dutch Bros Coffee.
A spotlight was put on the Chick-fil-A at Blackstone and Nees avenues this week when a nearby restaurateur publicly blasted the restaurant on Facebook.
Dave Fansler, owner of Westwoods BBQ & Spice Co. in the same shopping center, posted a letter on the Westwoods Facebook page complaining about the line of cars at Chick-fil-A’s drive-thru.
But a solution may already be in the works: Chick-fil-A has filed a “preapplication” for a permit to renovate the restaurant to create a second drive-thru lane, according to Sontaya Rose, the city’s director of communications.
It’s the first step in what will likely lead to a formal application, including for a conditional-use permit. It would also add 319 square feet to the restaurant that would be used for storage.
“It looks like Chick-fil-A is making an effort to resolve things and ease traffic congestion in the parking lot,” Rose told The Bee on Tuesday. “I think it’s compounded with the In-N-Out.”
In-N-Out’s drive-thru line is also an issue, Fansler acknowledged, but the letter focuses on Chick-fil-A.
Chick-fil-A franchisee Sonja Middleton declined to comment for this story, referring The Bee to the corporate office.
Already busy drive-thru restaurants have gotten even busier during the pandemic.
Fansler’s post was addressed to the Chick-fil-A owner, the City of Fresno planning department, the Fresno City Council and the Fresno Fire Department.
It reads, in part: “Westwoods BBQ (desperately) needs Chick Fil A to be a better neighbor. We have asked, begged, and pleaded for you to get a handle on your drive thru line that abuses our parking lot and our customers. Why do you think you are entitled to a 70 car drive thru?”
The line blocks fire lanes and the parking stalls of customers and employees trying to get in and out, it said.
It affects Westwoods customers, Fansler told The Bee Tuesday, though the restaurant is on the opposite side of the parking lot.
At noon Tuesday, the line of cars stretched from Chick-fil-A, behind JOANN Fabric and Craft Stores, and past Westwoods and its curbside service stalls.
Fansler noted customer also idle their cars while waiting, sending emissions into the air.
He said he has reached out to Chick-fil-A and they respond by trying to keep the parking lot aisles clear, but the problem of too many cars remains.
Fansler – who also owns Fresno restaurants Pismo’s Coastal Grill and Yosemite Ranch and founded Tahoe Joe’s steakhouse – asks Chick-fil-A to shut down its drive-thru operation in his letter. Instead, customers can order via a mobile app and pick up their food in designated curbside pickup spots, he said.
The post also suggests conditional-use permits for drive-thrus set a maximum number of cars that can be in line, after which only curbside service or walk-in dining must be used.
A representative of Chick-fil-A’s corporate parent declined to be quoted for this story, but said in an email that the restaurant wants to be a good neighbor. It is working with the shopping center owner, the city and neighboring businesses to ease the traffic congestion, the email said.
The restaurant has taken other steps, including adding workers who walk up to cars to take orders, installing new signs to direct traffic, and adding employees to handle drive-thru, carryout, and if workers are available, direct traffic in the parking lot.
Fansler’s Facebook post has 53 comments, with mixed reactions.
Many agreed with him, like Jaime Profit, who said: “That line is ridiculous. They block in cars in the parking lot.”
Others expressed skepticism at Fansler’s method of complaining and the suggestion to limit Chick-fil-A’s business when the restaurateur sued the city over his own business being limited by COVID-19 restrictions.
“Yall just mad because your food isnt as good as chick-fil-a lmao,” said one commenter, Arturo Mendez.
This story was originally published June 8, 2021 at 2:07 PM.
