Chick-fil-A Planning Location On Route 59 In Nanuet

NANUET, NY — Chick-fil-A, which is moving aggressively into the region, is closer to building its first location in Rockland County.

The national fast-food chain, which only received provisional approval for its first Hudson Valley restaurant in January, is working on restaurants in Nanuet, Greenburgh, Yonkers and Yorktown.

It also picked up a contract with the New York State Thruway, which is renovating its rest stops. SEE: Bringing Chick-fil-A To NY Thruway Rest Stops Sparks Controversy

"Chick-fil-A is constantly evaluating potential new locations for our restaurant expansion," a company spokesperson told Patch. She said Nanuet represented a tremendous opportunity to serve their customers and fans. "At this time, we are still very early in discussions," she said.

Company officials have an application before the Clarkstown Planning Board, Town Supervisor George Hoehmann told Patch.

"They're telling us it’s going to be their largest in the Northeast," he said, describing plans for "double-stacking" the drive-thru operation to prevent bottlenecks.

Long Island's Chick-Fil-A locations are still seeing long lines. A Chick-Fil-A on Third Avenue in NYC has been a headache for neighbors since it opened.

Meanwhile, Hoehmann said, town officials are working with the few tenants at the old strip mall at 52 Route 59 to help them find locations elsewhere.

That section of Route 59 near Route 304 is highly sought after, he said, "There’s not a lot of vacancies and when they turn around they do quickly."

He cited new businesses including Starbucks, White Castle, Chipotle and a national day care center, and the promise of transit-oriented developments near the train station and the Shops at Nanuet.

Economic development has been steady in Clarkstown, which didn’t see a downturn in 2020-21, he said. "Our planning board was busy throughout the pandemic." Other than on Route 58, new projects include a 200,000-square-foot warehouse going up in Valley Cottage and Montefiore's surgical center in West Nyack.

"We've also really tried to streamline our approval process," he said. "While it’s not easy, it’s not as arduous as it once was. We’re not reducing requirements, we’re managing meetings."