Chick-fil-A submitted a plan to build in Grand Chute. One of its restaurant locations in Indiana is shown here.(Photo: Maureen Wallenfang/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)Buy Photo
Rumors swirling about a Chick-fil-A coming to the Fox Cities are now confirmed.
The restaurant chain, known for its signature chicken sandwiches, plans to build at 3775 W. College Ave. in Grand Chute, the former Parma site.
It requested a conditional use permit review at Tuesday’s town plan commission meeting.
The request ends months of speculation that Chick-fil-A, the largest chicken chain in the country, had its eye on the Fox Cities.
To date, it has eight restaurants in Wisconsin, but all are in the southern part of the state.
Plans show the new restaurant will be 5,000 square feet, with 78 parking stalls and dual drive-thru lanes.
It will demolish the existing 6,700-square-foot building.
“Chick-fil-A will clear the building and site improvements currently developed on the former Parma property, and then redevelop the site for their new restaurant,” community development director Bob Buckingham told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin in an email Sunday.
He said project costs, so far, are undisclosed.
“Those will be provided closer to the time that building permits are requested,” he said.
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Chick-fil-A wants to modify access to the restaurant, switching its entrance from a frontage road on the north side to a new entrance drive on the south side of the property off South Kools Street.
Its conditional use permit request asks “to allow grading within 300 feet of a navigable stream (Mud Creek) for the construction of a restaurant and associated site improvements.”
The Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A is more than 50 years old, and it remains a private, family-owned business with more than 2,200 restaurants around the country.
It’s known for founder S. Truett Cathy’s strong Christian foundation and the fact that all Chick-fil-A restaurants are closed on Sundays. Cathy’s sons and grandchildren are still involved in the business.
Son Dan Cathy faced a backlash from gay rights supporters in 2012 when he said the company supported traditional man-and-woman marriages. The company later issued a non-discrimination statement saying its policy was to treat every person with respect regardless of belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender. In a rare interview in 2014, Cathy told USA TODAY he regretted his comments against gay marriage. Same-sex marriage was legalized in the U.S. in 2015.
The former Parma restaurant’s structure was originally built as an O’Charley’s restaurant in 2006 for a reported $3 million. It’s between Kwik Trip and Wheel & Sprocket.
After O-Charley’s, it was occupied by two short-lived restaurants, Sambrulos, then Parma.
Parma’s owner, Marc Waltzer, sold the building in August 2016, but signed a long-term lease to continue operating the restaurant. He closed the restaurant one month later, however.
The building’s buyer, Grand Chute Holdings LLC, filed a federal suit alleging breach of contract ithe n May 2017. On March 30, a judge ruled in favor of plaintiff Grand Chute Holdings.
In state records, Grand Chute Holdings is still shown as property owner.
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Parma operated at 3775 W. College Ave. in Grand Chute through September 2016. (Photo: Maureen Wallenfang/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)
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