Here’s a news nugget.
Chick-fil-A has been confirmed as the mystery restaurant slated to rise next to St. Augustine’s incoming Walmart Supercenter, a county source told The Citizen this week.
The restaurant’s identity has been a loosely guarded secret in recent weeks as word spread of a new fast food joint coming in alongside the retailer.
County officials met with project representatives this week to discuss the proposal.
County transportation planner Jan Trantham asked if they were able to end the pseudo-suspense as to the eatery’s identity, but a Chick-fil-A official protected it like the last wing on the plate.
“I don’t think we’re supposed to,” he said with a chuckle. “But everyone and their friend knows who it is.”
Cognizant of widespread concerns over traffic in the area, Trantham noted the poultry purveyor’s unique popularity.
“They kind of have a very much higher volume of traffic than the typical fast food restaurant,” she said.
Another county official highlighted that a Chick-fil-A location on US-1 in St. Augustine sometimes struggles to manage traffic — and that the new location could bunch up as well.
He said there have been several accidents at the existing location due to vehicle snarls.
“That concerns me a little bit,” he said.
County traffic consultant Rajesh Chindalur told the gathering that he would look into the issue.
The new restaurant will span 5,558 square feet with total seating for 122 fowl fanatics.
Slated to go up at 3405 B International Golf Parkway, the location will feature Chick-fil-A’s double drive-thru model.
While some residents have celebrated the wave of new retail options in the area — with thousands attending the grand opening of a nearby Bass Pro Shops — others have howled about lengthening travel times.
The Walmart and Chick-fil-A, officials said at the meeting, would not be completed until sometime in 2026.
