The Hartland Burger King restaurant at 10382 Highland Road, shuttered since 2020, could be resurrected as Livingston County’s first Chick-fil-A restaurant. This means that area Chick-fil-A aficionados won’t have to drive to Novi, Flint or Okemos any longer to get their fix.
The Hartland Township Planning Commission will be reviewing Chick-fil-A’s proposal at its meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10, at the Hartland Township Hall, 2655 Clark Road. Chick-fil-A is the only item on the meeting’s agenda.
Check-fil-A’s concept plan for the redevelopment of the former Burger King site shows construction of a 5,146-square-foot building with drive-through service. Plans include outdoor seating for 24 on the north side of the building, and seating for 70 inside. The plan also call for two drive-through lanes under a flat-roofed metal canopy.
Rumors swirled last year that Chick-fil-A would be opening in the old Big Boy spot at the corner of Grand River Avenue and Challis Road in Brighton; since then, the old Big Boy was torn down and work is proceeding on an MSU Federal Credit Union branch.
Headquartered in Georgia, Chick-fil-A is the largest U.S. chain restaurant specializing in chicken sandwiches. There are currently 3,059 Chick-fil-As operating in 48 states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The chain, which is closed on Sundays, has in the past been criticized from the left for its founder’s stance against gay marriage, and the dollars it has donated to anti-LGBTQ organizations before ending that practice in 2019. It has also come under fire from conservatives for having a vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion, and for “woke” marketing.
Should the project come to fruition, it would bring with it some good news. Every time a franchised Chick-fil-A restaurant opens, it donates $25,000 to a local food bank. Chick-fil-As also donate their surplus food to local shelters, soup kitchens and charities. According to its website, Chick-fil-A donated approximately 10 million meals over the last few years.
