New Chick-fil-A building proposals receive optimism from ACC Commission

Chick-fil-A's proposed facade changes to its upcoming downtown Athens location will change a historic visual element of the city for the past few decades.

Along with the addition of the new Chick-fil-A restaurant in downtown Athens, many visual changes may also be coming to the all-important location of 101 College Avenue.

The Athens-Clarke County Historic Preservation Commission heard the concept review of the proposed changes to the building on Tuesday at the Dougherty Street Government Building’s auditorium.

Following the detailed proposal given by Kent Thagard, Chick-fil-A’s regional manager of design and construction, the commission seemed optimistic that the plan would pass through the upcoming vote on a finalized proposal after some adjustments would be made so the plan would fit the commission’s guidelines.

Commission chair Drew Dekle praised the plan for fitting “nearly perfectly within the guidelines”, saying the plan had a chance to be “wildly successful”.

Thagard explained that although Chick-fil-A is a large national chain, the location soon to be in downtown Athens would be custom-made and “would pay respect to the lives of this space [and its history]”.

Previously the location at 101 College Ave., directly across the street from the Arch and the University of Georgia’s northern tip of campus, was a Five Guys restaurant until it closed last October.

However, the proposals sent by Chick-fil-A, led by Thagard, seek to bring nostalgia of a time where The Varsity had its location at the corner of Broad and College starting in the 1930s.

Given the importance of location’s long history since the building’s construction in 1885 and its previous history as the home of The Varsity, Fuse Box Pinball, China Express and most recently Five Guys, Thagard reassured the commission that the new Chick-fil-A would not take away from the signature touch of historic downtown’s rich history.

“We really want to pay respect to all the different lives this building and this space had gone through”, said Thagard, who also cited the history Chick-fil-A has had in Athens since the opening of its first Athens location in Beechwood Shopping Center in 1982 and the amount of former and current UGA students that have worked at the chain.

As for the visual changes that students and the Athens community may soon see at the upcoming Chick-fil-A, the current red awning that was established at the Five Guys location will be turned into a dark bronze metal canopy along both the Broad Street and College Avenue sides of the building.

This infographic displays the changes the building on 101 College Ave. has endured over the past eight decades, including the proposed changes to the building with the upcoming Chick-fil-A location. Infographic courtesy of Lauren Funk.

Also, instead of lettering across the awning, the restaurant will have the chain’s sign on both sides of the canopy.

Thagard also explained that the plan was to remove the plaster of the Five Guys location to make room for a new brick style around the outside of the location, which he presented in a sample provided to the commission at the meeting.

When asked by the commission as to what would happen if in the process of removing plaster, brick was found underneath, Thagard replied, “If we find brick under there and we can save it, we want to keep it.”

Another key change to the building would be the side of the building that faces Broad Street. The side window of the building would be changed into a form of express lane, most likely for carryout or online orders including Tapingo customers.

Although Thagard stated that the location would have “very limited seating indoors”, he proposed the side of the restaurant facing College Avenue would be able to open its casements so there could be an opportunity to “really reach out to the community” in a more literal sense, with the ability from people outside the building to talk to people inside and vice versa.

Along with the opening casements, the proposals include a set of five tables and accompanying umbrellas on the outside of the restaurant where the current three tables remain from the Five Guys location.

Ultimately, the commission seemed positive and optimistic of the proposals given by Thagard, with the reassurance by Thagard that the location would be “structurally compliant” to the commission’s guidelines and to have extreme care to not damage or remove historically important pieces of the location.

Commission member Jared Peden stated the project truly took brings back “The Varsity’s aesthetic” to the location.

Commission chair Drew Dekle stated the project had “a very classy look” and did not look “fake or contrived”.

“I’ve had so many national chains with their plans, [and they say] ‘this is how we do it because this is what our brand says we have to do it and we’re imposing this on you’,” said Dekle.

“This is a custom store, this is for this space and for Athens…This is where we really want to make sure we do the right thing because it is Athens and it means a lot not only to you guys, but it means a lot to a lot of people and Chick-fil-A, too,” replied Thagard.

Currently there is no scheduled vote for a finalized proposal of the changes to 101 College Avenue, but the commission has its meeting every third Wednesday of the month. So, its next meeting and first opportunity to vote on the changes to the upcoming Chick-fil-A location comes on February 21.

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