Chick-fil-A Planning New Oakland County Restaurant

AUBURN HILLS, MI — Chick-fil-A is planning to open a new restaurant in Auburn Hills after city officials approved development plans earlier this month.

Plans call for the new 5,000 square-foot fast-food chicken restaurant to open at 2111 North Squirrel Road, between Walton Boulevard and University Drive, across from Oakland University, according to city officials.

The site is where the former Macaroni Grill Restaurant was for 20 years.

Officials did not provide an exact opening date, but said crews were expected to break ground in May of this year.

The popular fast-food restaurant's parking lot will be able to hold 96 vehicles and its two service drive-thru will be able to handle 45 cars at a time, according to development plans.

Plans also show the popular restaurant wants to add a 928 square-foot outdoor area that will offer seasonal dining with six tables and 24 seats. Those plans would require a special land use permit.

The restaurant will be open from 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It will be closed on Sunday.

The new Auburn Hills restaurant will join 13 other Chick-fil-A restaurants serving the metro Detroit area, including one in the Detroit Medical Center. Another proposed restaurant is planned to open sometime this summer inside Bedrock's First National Building on Woodward Avenue in downtown near Campus Martius sometime in May or June

The latest Chick-fil-A restaurant opened earlier this year in Livonia.

Chick-fil-A opened its first Michigan restaurant inside the Somerset collection in Troy in 2016.