ACCESS NEPA FILE
The long-vacant Quaker Steak & Lube on Commerce Boulevard in Dickson City will be torn down to make way for a Chick-fil-A fast-food restaurant.
BY FRANK WILKES LESNEFSKY
Chick-fil-A is one step closer to serving chicken in the Dickson City.
The zoning hearing board unanimously granted a special exception and two variances Wednesday for the Atlanta-based food chain’s planned restaurant on Commerce Boulevard. Chick-fil-A needed approval from the board for a drive-through, the orientation of the building and a loading zone.
Although Chick-fil-A doesn’t intend to build a loading dock for deliveries, it had to receive approval for a loading zone as part of Dickson City’s zoning regulations, said zoning officer Jim Damski.
The proposed 5,015- square-foot restaurant will be located at the former Quaker Steak & Lube, which has been vacant since 2015. Because Chick-fil-A plans to tear down the vacant building and construct a new facility, it needed approval from the board, Damski said.
The drive-through will accommodate about 24 vehicles with two order stations that will merge into one pickup window, said Justin Thornton, an engineer and principal associate with Red Bank, New Jersey-based Maser Consulting.
With zoning board approval out of the way, Chick-fil-A just needs final approval from the planning commission and borough council, said planning commission Chairman Mike Fedorka.
The proposed Chick-fil-A is flanked by shuttered restaurants — the Tilted Kilt, which closed in 2018, above it, and Uno Pizzeria and Grill, which closed in October, below it.
Thornton expects the restaurant to open some time next year.
Contact the writer: flesnefsky@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5181; @flesnefskyTT on Twitter
