Jacksonville's newest Chick-fil-A will be smaller. But its drive-thru will be super-sized.

Florida Times-Union

October 12, 2022 at 10:54 PM·4 min read

A proposed Chick-fil-A in Mandarin will have more permanent drive-thru lanes with canopies at both ordering and pickup areas similar to this design at a Chick-fil-A restaurant opening in Ridgeland, Miss., earlier this year.

The indoor children’s playground is out and a bigger outdoor drive-thru is in at Jacksonville’s next Chick-fil-A restaurant.

In documents recently submitted for review to the St. Johns Water Management District, Chick-fil-A is planning its next-generation restaurant featuring a new design in Mandarin at San Jose Boulevard and Old Acosta Road.

The new restaurant design is notably smaller than Chick-fil-A's existing restaurants in Jacksonville, including the Atlanta-based chain’s Lakewood location, which opened in June 2021 at 3814 University Blvd. W., measuring just under 5,000 square feet.

[Keep reading, there's more restaurant news below, including a new restaurant concept from Carrabba's co-founder, another Culver's coming to Jacksonville, more competition for Jacksonville-based Firehouse Subs and Larry's Giant Subs, and more.]

According to plans, the new Mandarin restaurant will be just over 3,500 square feet, allowing seating for just 38 diners – less than half that of Jacksonville’s other Chick-fil-A locations. Plans also show a small patio dining area with four tables and 16 seats.

In addition, the indoor play area – a feature of Chick-fil-A restaurants and a favorite of children and their parents for years – is not part of the new, smaller store design. (During the pandemic, children’s play areas were closed at most locations.)

What’s new at the planned Mandarin restaurant is a larger, reimagined drive-thru to better serve the chain’s customers who opt not to dine in, a trend fueled by closed dining rooms during the pandemic’s worst months. But even before the pandemic, Chick-fil-A's drive-thru business was the envy of most fast-food operators.

Among the drive-thru changes shown on the submitted plans are:

Two full-length drive-thru lanes
Three menu boards and ordering queues
Permanent canopies at ordering and pickup areas

The drive-thru lanes – capable of queuing as many as 45 vehicles or more – stretch along the western half of the 1-acre property at what is now a parking lot for a medical office building that includes a Brooks Rehabilitation facility.

And with the dual drive-thru lanes, expect the drive-thru window to be replaced with a door to allow employees to deliver food to customers in the outside lane.

Chick-fil-A did not immediately respond to a request for renderings and more details about the proposed restaurant and its design.

A drive-thru-only Chick-fil-A? It's coming.

Plans for the new restaurant come nearly four months after Chick-fil-A proposed its first drive-thru-only restaurant in Jacksonville.

The restaurant, in a service availability request filed with JEA in June, would be at 11901 Atlantic Blvd. in the Sleiman-owned Atlantic North development at Kernan Boulevard.

A preliminary concept for the restaurant filed with JEA shows a 2,705-square-foot restaurant with a 35-car stack capacity drive-thru with two lanes. The restaurant will not include any customer seating.

Study: Chick-fil-A last in drive-thru wait time

In a new study of drive-thru wait times at 10 major U.S. fast-food chains by Intouch Insight and QSR, Chick-fil-A came in last, averaging 8 minutes and 29 seconds in total time from entering the drive-thru to exiting with their food. That’s 2 minutes and 17 seconds more than the average of 6 minutes and 12 seconds among all 10 restaurants in the survey, including McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King and others. (KFC ranked first, followed by Taco Bell, Hardee’s, Dunkin’ and Carl’s Jr.)

During the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, Chick-fil-A finished first in fastest total time.

But Chick-fil-A has a lot more cars going thru its drive-thru than other restaurants.

In 2022, Chick-fil-A averaged 4.74 cars in line, nearly 2 more cars than the average of 2.76 among all 10 chains in the survey. By that measure, Chick-fil-A ranked first in fastest total time by car. (McDonald’s ranked second, followed by Taco Bell. Dunkin’ and Arby’s tied for fourth.)

In the same study, Chick-fail-A tied for first with Carl’s Jr. For satisfaction with service, based on customers’ overall drive-thru experience, staff friendliness and customer expectations. So even if the wait time is longer, Chick-fil-A diners appear to be just fine with that.

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There's more restaurant news below.

Have a question about a restaurant opening or closing in your neighborhood? Let me know.

Cheers!

Gary Mills

Deputy Managing Editor

The Florida Times-Union

Email: [email protected]