North DeKalb Mall is about to undergo a lot of construction as the massive — and mostly vacant — mall undergoes redevelopment, but one fast-food chain won’t be building near the site.
The owner of a drive-thru-only Chick-fil-A near the mall has been trying for more than a year to relocate closer to the mall’s property to build a more standard fast food location with both a drive-thru and tables for indoor dining. However, strong opposition from nearby residents prompted the applicant to withdraw the plans last Thursday, meaning the existing Chick-fil-A won’t be going anywhere.
“It will disadvantage a minority business owner who has given his heart and soul to the neighborhood for many years,” David Kirk, the Chick-fil-A applicant, said during a public meeting last Thursday. “But we understand the opposition has had success.”
The Chick-fil-A is currently located at 3795 North Druid Hills Road and operates as a drive-thru-only location with three drive-thru lanes. The restaurant’s owner wanted to move to 3905 North Druid Hills Road and replace a vacant Pier 1 Imports store. The owner filed a rezoning application in April 2021, and the project has slowly moved through DeKalb County’s processes since then.
By the time the application came before the county’s Board of Commissioners last Thursday, Kirk said the community outcry was loud enough that he knew the project wouldn’t move forward. He said the owner will make do with the current location, which he described as a dangerous traffic location.
“We’re going to continue to operate as best we can at that location,” he said, “and hope and pray there will be no serious issues with traffic and continued accidents as people make the dangerous entrance into and out of that site.”
Several residents said they were happy the application was withdrawn. Most of them made it clear that they weren’t against Chick-fil-A as a company relocating to the vacant retail site; they don’t want any restaurant to move there with a drive-thru.
“It wasn’t that we were opposed to Chick-fil-A being there,” resident Carol Hayes said during the meeting. “We just don’t feel like that property is best used as a drive-thru.”
During the same meeting, the board unanimously rezoned the 77-acre North DeKalb Mall to transform the struggling retail center into a mixed-use community with about 1,800 homes. Residents, who were mostly supportive of the redevelopment, said additional drive-thru restaurants won’t jive with the walkable, interconnected community they hope comes with the mall’s redevelopment.
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