The Prince George’s County planning department has approved an application from Chick-fil-A to build a distribution kitchen on Route 1.
The application for the development site met legal requirements for approval from the county planning director, according to a statement from Calista Black, the county planning board acting public affairs officer.
The proposal drew criticisms from College Park residents and members of the city council over the summer, who said Chick-fil-A didn’t consult enough stakeholders before moving forward with the development, and that the company’s anti-LGBTQ stances don’t match the city’s values.
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Chick-fil-A argued the project, called Little Blue Menu, would fill the restaurant gap that was left when Applebee’s closed in the space in 2018.
College Park Mayor Patrick Wojahn said in an email that having a Chick-fil-A would hurt the city’s mission to increase walkability and bikeability since “the city will have a business in [its] downtown that encourages driving.”
Chick-fil-A did not respond to a request for comment.
