Chick-fil-A is apparently interested in opening a location in Riggs Park. The plan is to demo the KFC/Taco Bell located at 220 Riggs Road NE plus the former Dakota Liquor property next door to the KFC at 5510 3rd Street NE and reorient a new building on the site with a drive-thru. The developer attended the single member district meeting of ANC Commissioner Alison Brooks (4B08) earlier this month and provided renderings. (I have not received a copy of the renderings just yet). The developer will also apparently attend the Lamond-Riggs Citizens Association (LRCA) meeting on November 4. No notice has been given about that meeting just yet, but my understanding is that the developer will be there, so if you are interested in learning more, you can attend Monday’s LRCA meeting at 7:00 pm at LaSalle-Backus Education Campus (501 Riggs Road NE).
Chick-fil-A is known for having drive-thrus that are a bit of a cluster, so hopefully they will work with DDOT on a foolproof plan for not backing up traffic on either Riggs Road, 3rd Street, or 2nd Street. Drivers have long engaged in hijinks, such as illegal U-turns, to enter the KFC drive-thru on 3rd Street. Walmart visitors also exit onto 3rd Street, adding to the traffic on that narrow road. And 3rd Street and 2nd Street form kind of a gnarly intersection just north of this location that residents have long asked DDOT to do something about because that intersection does not make sense for either motorists or pedestrians.
A CubeSmart opened at 5600 2nd Street NE within the past year. We know even more development is coming to that small corridor, as earlier this year in March, the Zoning Commission voted to approve a map amendment request for the properties located at 5642, 5648, and 5650 3rd Street NE to change the zoning designation for those properties to mixed-use. See this post for that story. No word just yet on the intended uses for those properties, but a Chick-fil-A at the corner of Riggs Road and 3rd Street NE will definitely change the game for this part of the community.
Next Stop...Riggs Park 
NO DRIVE THROUGHS IN RIGGS OR MICHIGAN PARK!
Drivethroughs are to serve people who don’t live in the community, and not those who do. As a place lacking any sit down food options we shouldn’t further encourage people outside the community to drive by, pick up food, throw the trash out their window on the way back home
As you mentioned, their parking lots are always a mess anywhere they go, esp the drive through.
100% agree! If our neighborhoods are going to be anything more than a place that people drive through to get somewhere else, we need to have more reasons for people to come to here, instead of through here. Drive-throughs encourage exactly the kind of behavior towards our neighborhood that we don’t want.
I personally can’t stand Chik-fil-a, but if people want one here, then let’s get one. Just … let’s put it in a denser format, more consistent with the walkability we’d like to encourage along our neighborhood’s main streets.
I hope this proposal is met with strenuous opposition by the community. Significant traffic issues aside, Chick-Fil-A is open about their anti-LGBTQ+ stance and actively advocates to do harm to members of that vulnerable population.
I strongly disagree as a lifetime Wasinhtoinan born and raised just a few blocks away on 11th street off Gallows Road. It’s Chicken, don’t like it don’t eat it. Stop forcing your personal views and lifestyle choices on others, live and let live and accept what new offerings are coming into our community without always raising a stink. Not a fan of Chic Fil A don’t spend your money there but don’t try to gather support from the whole community to follow your choices. How long have you lived in the community?
Hi Mr. Lawrence, thanks for visiting the blog. Please refrain from making personal attacks in the comment section. As Lauren noted below, cities are grappling with how to deal with this business that is owned by a family that clearly supports anti-LGBTQ+ causes. People can certainly differ in opinion on whether they care about corporate ownership and how corporate profits are spent. And we do not play the “you haven’t lived here long enough to express an opinion” game here.
Agreed,
this is not just about chicken or hamburgers, this is also about our neighborhood,
quality of life and the public spaces we walk every day.
There’s a lot of information about the effects of this type of business in urban communities. We just need to spread the information, any reasonable adult or smart kid will be able to understand it and make conclusions. 🙂
staring here:
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/10/10/765789694/why-u-s-cities-are-banning-new-fast-food-drive-throughs
https://www.citylab.com/life/2017/03/how-fast-food-chains-cornered-the-urban-market/521148/
I agree with John. This neighborhood does not need another fast food option – especially one that is anti-LGBTQ. As you may know, some cities (Boston, San Francisco, Chicago and some airports) are doing their best to keep Chick-Fil-A out of their markets.
Per the Area Development Summary (in the link kindly provided by NSRP), it looks like this “opportunity site’s” proposed land-use designation is Medium-Density / Mixed-Use. Knocking down one fast food chain with a parking lot, and replacing it with another fast food chain with a parking lot and drive-thru seem to go against that plan.
With all the great infill coming to the neighborhood, putting another fast food restaurant at such a prominent corner (and Opportunity Site) seems like it would be a real wasted opportunity.
OTOH, people do love Chick-fil-a, so I imagine it will draw more people into the area. But with a drive-thru, they might just as quickly leave…
So I guess my take is: it’s better than what’s that there, but not by much.