Dave Alley
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – A much-anticipated new Chick-fil-A restaurant on North Broadway in Santa Maria opened Thursday morning.
Beginning at 6:30 a.m., customers were able to be among the first to check out the second Chick-fil-A to open in the city.
“We are super excited to be open up here,” said Owner/Operator Joey Hickox. “It’s a great location.”
Located just off Highway 101 at the busy intersection of North Broadway and North Preisker Lane, there has been concerns about the potential impact the new restaurant may have on traffic in the area.
“It’s certainly one of our most impacted intersections in the city,” said Brett Fulgoni, Santa Maria Public Works Director. “This is a pinch point for us in Santa Maria. A lot of the entire north area of town comes through here, so we look for every way we can to try to improve this intersection.”
Since the restaurant was approved by the city last year, several stakeholders have been developing a plan to help lessen potential traffic impacts.
“We’ve worked very closely with the City of Santa Maria, Santa Maria Police Department, with our neighbors here at Wendy’s and the Hampton Inn,” said Hickox. “We eally think we have the best plan possible to help mitigate any kind of traffic issues. We understand it’s going to be a challenge and this is day one, but we think we’ve got a good plan.”
In the months leading up to the opening of the restaurant, road work has taken place on North Broadway and North Preisker Lane to improve the flow of traffic.
“The developer and Chick-Fil-A have worked with the city, and we’ve also worked with Caltrans to add a right hand turn lane for drivers who are exiting Highway 101 on Broadway southbound,” said Fulgoni. “There’s a new extended right hand turn lane, along with the green light for those right hand turns.”
In addition, Fulgoni explained additional changes are also coming to Preisker Lane at the Broadway stoplight.
“Right now, you’ve got a dedicated left lane and a left, through and right,” said Fulgoni. “So there’s there’s overall three lanes of traffic on the roadway. We’ll be re striping this next week and there’s going to be four lanes, on the road, so there’ll be two dedicated left lanes and then a dedicated through and right. We’re also going to end up adding a bike lane off the road on the west side of the roadway.”
Fulgoni estimated striping on the roadway is expected to be finished next week, but could be impacted by the weather.
“We do have some weather coming next week,” said Fulgoni. “It’s all weather dependent, so fingers crossed we can get it in, if not as soon as possible, within the next week or two.”
Looking ahead, Fulgoni also mentioned the nearby Highway 101/Broadway interchange is also slated for a major upgrade.
“There is a new interchange planned at Highway 101 and 135 (Broadway) and there will be some further improvements made to this intersection as a result of that interchange improvement,” said Fulgoni. “This area is the top major infrastructure priority for the city. The 101/135 (Broadway) project is something that we’re working with Caltrans, SB CAG, we’re dedicating Measure A funding and we’re dedicating developer impact fee dollars to it. We’re going to be ready for construction in about 2030.”
While there have been road improvements made, with several more still to come, Hickox also explained other methods have been developed to help boost mobility through the property.
“It’s going to be a little interesting at first,” said Hickox. “I just hope and pray that our customers are patient with us and our neighbors are patient with us as we as we navigate this. This parking lot is a little bit different (from Hickox’ other Chick-fil-A on Betteravia Road). We’ve got signs all over the place and we actually have lots of team members that are going to be working outside that will help direct traffic and direct people around.”
Hickox is hopeful the new restaurant will experience similar customer numbers compared to his other Chick-fil-A at the Enos Ranch Shopping Center.
That restaurant opened in 2018 and averages about 2,000 daily, something Hickox is hopeful at Highway 101/Broadway location.
“It’d be nice if we could get that up here,” said Hickox. “We’re anticipating it to be busy, but we’ll see.
The new Chick-fil-A will be open Monday through Saturday from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., and will offer customers service through dine-in, drive-thru, carry-out, catering and its Mobile Thru app. options.
The drive-thru will remain open until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings.
“We’re very excited to be here,” said Hickox. “Santa Maria, you’ve been so warm and welcoming to us for the last seven and a half years. We’re just super excited to bring it to the north side of town now and look forward to serving you here!”
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