The national fast-food chain Chick-fil-A may be headed to Vancouver as the restaurant makes its entry into the Portland metro area market.
The Atlanta-based chicken restaurant, which operates more than 1,850 restaurants in 41 states and Washington D.C., is in discussions to purchase a property on the northeast corner of Southeast 164th Avenue and Mill Plain Boulevard.
The company’s California-based consultant has requested a preliminary plan review for demolition of a residential building to construct a restaurant with a drive-thru window and seating for 119 patrons.
Chick-fil-A representatives would not comment on the proposal and the property owner, JMS Properties of Vancouver, said no deal has been finalized. But the chain clearly is making its move on the Northwest, one of the last areas it has yet to reach in its long expansion since the opening of the first Chick-fil-A in suburban Atlanta in 1967.
The company is building restaurants in Lynwood, Bellevue and Tacoma, all scheduled for March 2015 openings, according to local media reports. In a statement to The Columbian, Chick-fil-A’s vice president of public relations, Carrie Kurlander, disclosed plans for two restaurants in the Portland metro area.
“It has been a longtime goal of ours to serve communities in the Portland area, and we can at this time confirm two locations will open in early 2016 in Tanasbourne and Clackamas,” she said. “We look forward to joining the Tanasbourne and Clackamas communities and serving all of our customers delicious food in an environment of genuine hospitality.”
The half-acre site being considered for Chick-fil-A in Vancouver, at 719 S.E. 164th Ave., is the last non-commercial property at the busy intersection of 164th and Mill Plain. The building as proposed would contain 4,525 square feet close to the intersection, with parking in the rear. The restaurant would be open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. and, like all Chick-fil-A’s, would be closed on Sundays. The city’s preliminary review is scheduled for Dec. 4.
The company’s website says it is now the largest fast-food chicken restaurant chain in the United States, based on sales, with sales of over $5 billion. Chick-fil-A is still privately held and family owned.
