Chick-fil-A to build 3 new restaurants in Dallas-Fort Worth and remodel 4 locations

First the good news: Chick-fil-A is doing extensive renovations on at least four of its restaurants in North Texas, which could include more drive-thru capacity at some, and building three all-new location in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Now some bad news: The popular fast-food restaurants being remodeled might be closing for several weeks during construction, if the projects are similar to other major renovations of Chick-fil-A sites.

Chick-fil-A already has more than 100 locations in the Metroplex, including 16 in Fort Worth and 22 in Dallas.

Among those existing restaurants, these four are about to get big renovations.

In Denton, the Chick-fil-A at 1711 S. Loop 288 near Target and Walmart will undergo a $2.2 million remodel job starting in August, according to a project registration with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. The construction will take 10 weeks.

The Chick-fil-A at 3705 Main St. in The Colony will get a $1 million remodeling starting in early July and taking about two months, state records show.

Meanwhile, the Chick-fil-A in McKinney at 8700 State Highway 121 will be undergoing a $1.8 million remodeling, records show. The project has the same construction timeline as The Colony.

A little farther north, the Chick-fil-A in Sherman along U.S. 75 is also getting a $1.8 million remodeling that begins in June.

3 New Chick-fil-A locations in Dallas-Fort Worth

A new Chick-fil-A is going to be built in Dallas at 11809 E. Northwest Highway, according to records filed Wednesday with the state. This location is right off Interstate 635 and Garland Avenue by the Sam’s Club.

The $1.2 million construction begins in late June and should finish by the end of November.

Another new Chick-fil-A is coming to Preston Road in Plano, with the $1.2 million build starting in late April and finishing in September.

And a third new restaurant planned for Rowlett, at 8500 Lakeview Parkway, with construction beginning in October and wrapping in March 2023.

These latest projects follow news that the Chick-fil-A in Hudson Oaks, in Parker County west of Fort Worth, to reconfigure the drive-thru for a full second lane to ease traffic congestion. That project is estimated at $350,000 and begins in March.

Chick-fil-A building frenzy in Texas?

According to filings with the state’s licensing department over the past year, Chick-fil-A is investing at least $38.4 million in new Texas restaurants or renovations of existing locations.

A total of 18 new Chick-fil-A locations have been registered in Texas since January 2022, as well as 15 renovation projects.

Chick-fil-A says the typical lifespan of one of its freestanding restaurants is about 30 years, but most get renovated within 13 to 18 years depending on capacity and age, kitchen size and single-lane drive-thrus. Other factors are outdated furniture, counters, awnings and playgrounds.

A Chick-fil-A near Houston reopened in November after a two-month remodeling job that included the dining room, playground, front counters, seating and additional drive-thru lanes to help alleviate traffic.

In January, a Chick-fil-A in Oxford, Mississippi, welcomed customers back after a longer-than-expected four months of work to make everything “pretty much new,” the owner told the Oxford Eagle newspaper. The remodeling left a smaller dining room but a bigger drive-thru space to increase capacity.

A few years ago, Chick-fil-A introduced a new modular building strategy in which portions of the kitchen and dining room are assembled off site to reduce rebuild jobs by six to 10 weeks.

The Atlanta-based, privately owned company employs 170,000 people at more than 2,700 restaurants in 47 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and Canada.