If you live in the Capital Region and wanted some Chick-fil-A, you would either have to drive to the closest location, which is in Chicopee, Massachusetts... or you would have go to Albany International Airport, buy a plane ticket, go through TSA screening, and then you could patronize the only Chick-fil-A in the area at the airport concourse. I'm sure there were people willing to - and did - both.

YouTube
YouTube
loading...

But soon you won't have to. The Albany Business Review broke the news Tuesday night that the town of Clifton Park planning board gave the green light for the first standalone Chick-fil-A in the area. No body scan, metal detector or pat-down required.

Chick-fil-A restaurants have long been rumored to come to the Capital Region ever since its location at Albany Airport opened in 2018. The Clifton Park restaurant will be located on Clifton Country Road at the former Pier 1 Imports, which closed all of its stores in 2020.

Google Street View
Google Street View
loading...

The still-standing, but vacant, Pier 1 building will be demolished and the site will be redeveloped. Photos submitted in the proposal before the Clifton Park Planning Board show renderings of what the newly developed site will look like.

To accommodate the heavy traffic that will almost certainly increase drastically in the area, Chick-fil-A will offer three drive thru lanes. Construction is expected to take about six months, so a fall opening is planned - likely October or November.

Another Chick-fil-A location has also been pitched for Route 7 in Latham at the site of the Brick House Tavern, but the Business Review says it is only in the application stage.

5 Chain Restaurants Missing from the Capital Region

The Capital Region has more than it's fair share of chain restaurants. We have our McDonald's, Ihop, TGI Fridays, Applebees and Taco Bell. In fact there's been a steady increase of chains over the past decade or so with Sonic making its debut, a Chick-fil-A at the Albany International Airport, and the recently announced expansion of Popeyes.

If you need proof, just take a quick drive down Wolf Road in Colonie. Olive Garden, Cheesecake Factory, Chipotle, the 99 and just about everything else. Yet, there are some nationally popular chains that don't currently have a presence in the area.

More From Zoey 103.9