Chick-fil-A to open in South Strabane early next year

Construction on Washington Countys first Chick-fil-A fast-food restaurant will begin in September, with an opening date set for early next year.

South Strabane supervisors on Tuesday night unanimously approved the final land development plans for the restaurant at the Old Mill shopping center after the fast-food chain requested and was granted a variance on the number of parking spaces needed.

The 4,900-square-foot restaurant with 136 dining rooms seats and a double drive-through will be situated on a lot near Max & Ermas and is expected to open in January or February.

Were looking forward to being a part of the second wave of the (Old Mill) development, Chick-fil-A development supervisor Scott Goodson said.

The vote was preceded by a testy exchange between Supervisor Ed Mazur and the companys local attorney, Jonathan Kamin, over whether the restaurant was in compliance with the townships ordinance regarding parking spaces. Kamin said the company requested a variance to reduce the number of required spaces from 113 to 66, which is closer to its national average.

Sorry our ordinances dont comply with your national averages, Mazur said.

Actually, your ordinances dont comply with anything Ive seen in Western Pennsylvania, Kamin said. Theres no more land to be had for this piece of property.

Kamin said the lower number of spaces is closer to what the restaurant needs because 60 percent of its business is from drive-through customers. He added South Strabanes ordinance, which requires more parking spaces for fast-food sites than sit-down restaurants, is out of whack compared to other communities. The townships zoning board allowed the variance last month.

Meanwhile, a plan to expand a restaurant and bar at The Golf Club of Washington at 599 Country Club Road was tabled because it did not provide enough new parking spaces on the grounds. Ken Westcott, who represented the golf club at Tuesday nights meeting, said he has been given conflicting information from the township engineer and other officials about how many new spots are needed in addition to the 72 spots for the nine-hole golf course.

Im not getting a clear answer on that, Westcott said. This has been a frustrating process. I just want to get an answer for this process.

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Chick-fil-A to open in South Strabane early next year