Chick-fil-A On Its Way In Westborough
Courtesy photo
Chick-fil-A, the Atlanta-based fast-food chain that specializes in serving up chicken sandwiches, is closer to the debut of its first stand-alone New England restaurant after receiving a special permit from the Westborough Planning Board earlier this month.
Following the resistance the chain faced when it tried to open locations in Boston near the Freedom Trail and at Northeastern University last year, plans for a Westborough location at Speedway Plaza on Route 9 have been decidedly routine. The Boston plans drew the ire of students and Mayor Thomas Menino, who were offended by Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy’s opposition to gay marriage
Access Road A Main Contention
A special permit is required to build the 4,791-square-foot restaurant because that type of use isn’t allowed by right in Westborough’s highway district, according to Lester Hensley, chairman of the planning board.
Hensley said the most controversial topic related to the planned restaurant has been whether to require the owner to create a frontage road connecting Speedway to adjacent plazas as a condition of the special permit.
After a series of meetings, Hensley said the board determined it could not require the measure, and issued the special permit requiring Chick-fil-A to build a portion of the access road to the property line of Belmont Plaza next door—a more modest requirement.
Well aware of the backlash Chick-fil-A received when it began pursuing a Boston location, and disagreeing with Cathy’s views, Hensley said he did extensive research into the town’s rights, as well as the developer’s, when he learned that Chick-fil-A was interested in Westborough. But unlike Menino, Hensley decided his opinion was of a little consequence when it comes to issuing permits.
Hensley: No Public Opposition
“I concluded personally that it’s been fairly well established that point-of-view discrimination is not a legitimate reason to deny a permit,” Hensley said
Menino backed down after initially resolving to make it difficult for Chick-fil-A to receive the requisite permits to open in Boston last summer, but the chain did not persist with those plans anyway. In Westborough, Hensley said there has been no public opposition to the plans, which has simplified the issue for the town.
A franchise operator for the planned Westborough restaurant has not been selected, according to Brenda Morrow, a spokeswoman for Chick-fil-A. She said the company is hopeful the process will remain smooth.
“Our goal and our hope is that we will be met with no opposition and it will be a good business relationship for (Westborough) and Chick-fil-A,” McMorrow said.
The Planning Board unanimously approved the special permit, and Chick-fil-A’s proposal will now go before selectmen for a site plan review. Town Manager Jim Malloy said he expects that to happen in October.
With locations inside the Burlington Mall and Northshore Mall in Peabody, Malloy said he’s unsure exactly why Chick-fil-A has chosen Westborough to be home to its first stand-alone New England location. But with about 100,000 cars passing Speedway Plaza each day, and proximity to Interstate 495 and the Massachusetts Turnpike, he surmised that the location was a driving factor.
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