The folks at the Chick-fil-A rising at the corner of Spring and Sawyer in the First Ward (across from the Sawyer Heights Shopping Center) aren’t quite ready to take your order, but judging from this photo it looks like they might be sometime soon. The fast-food drive-thru is going up on the site of the former Riviana Foods warehouse at 2222 Shearn St., which was demo’ed last fall. Now if they’d just add a second Starbucks somewhere near the giant parking lot, comments Twitter photographer knittykat (there’s one inside the Target already), the area would truly fulfill its destiny as stay-at-home mom mecca of the Heights.
- Previously on Swamplot: Daily Demolition Report: Chicken and Rice
Photo: Twitter user knittykat
Sigh. I wish I could be a stay-at-home mom.
I don’t understand why this is newsworthy, yet the Carl’s Jr. going up on Ella next to the McDonalds is not newsworthy. The people have a need to know about this kind of thing, godammit!
YES!
I live in the apartments next door and LOOOVE it. Nothing like being able to basically do everything you need in one convenient location. Plus the bike path is right there which is great. Adding the Chick-Fil-A is exciting!
What?!?!?!?! Where is this Carls Jr you speak of???
I’m a work at home and at work mom, and I love Chick-fil-A no matter what neighborhood it’s in. There is nothing bad about this. Also, everyone knows a Starbucks inside of Target is not a real Starbucks.
Now the question remains: Who is going to buy all the other acres for sale at the old Riviana plant and what will they put there? It will define the neighborhood.
Except it’s not actually in the Heights.
Not exactly rice military either, so..
Carl’s Jr.? That is news! Yummy western bacon star burger (or whatever it is called). So good.
You know, the only time I ever really crave Chik-fil-a is on Sundays.
I crave Chick-Fil-A when I’m considering having an open marriage and how that would help me bring more wives into the coven. More magic underwear with pickles, I suppose. As long my chicken sandwich doesn’t touch my chicken mcnuggets.
From what I’ve heard, Starbucks is already looking at opening a location on Yale/Heights near the Walmart.
Chick-Fil-A is to McDonald’s as Target is to Walmart.
Chick-Fil-A is about as bland as chicken can be made. To me it’s on par with McD’s, BK, or any other lame mass produced food.
Starbucks has booked a spot in the Ainbinder strip mall between Yale and Heights Blvd.
Sad to see that lot go for a Chick-Fil-A. There are a nice set of townhomes next door and a brand new Crocket elementary to the south. Could have been somthing really nice on that lot.
But now the kids at Crocket Elementary won’t have to cross Sawyer to start working on getting diabetes. Not quite the walkable urban design I was hoping for.
Chick-Fil-A used to get my money on a fairly regular basis, until the execs decided to support homophobic legislation with that money. Oh well, they get to choose what to do with their money – and so do I.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/01/chick-fil-a-donated-anti-gay-groups-2009_n_1069429.html
Now I won’t have to drive down Shepherd Dr. to get to the CFA on the Southwest Fwy.
But where oh where is my White Castle??
Old School, obviously, Cick-fil-a was willing to pay more than anyone else for that spot. What would be better than a Chick-fil-a there? And, how does Chick-fil-a contribute to diabetes?
Nothing around there is walkable, nothing else would be walkable.
So excited for the sake of my kid, less excited about getting to read bible verses printed on the walls. But I can’t resist, it’s still a yay.
Outstanding! Chick-fil-a is the only fast food joint I’m willing to go to, it will be nice to have one nearby for when I have absolutely no alternative.
I think there’s a Starbucks planned for that ugly mid-rise on Studewood north of 11th. I’m most definitely NOT looking forward to that.
I like Chik-Fil-A’s smartass ad-cows, but not their food.
Any neighborhood that would like the Carl’s Jr. going up on Ella just north of 610 is welcome to bring a large flatbed and a crane and haul it to a new location. Just check with the current owners, you hear?
The building looked very much like a Chik-Fil-A as it went up (but that may be because all such places look alike), so the Garden Oaks – Oak Forest crowd was sorely disappointed to see the Carl’s Jr. sign go up, notwithstanding the snarky but funny comments above regarding C-F-A.
CFA is the last place i’d go for a good chicken sandwich, are their hamburgers at least decent?
@Ross, Its a well known fact that if a restaurant has more than 10 locations or is able to serve your food in less than 10 minutes then it directly contributes to diabetes. Restaurants that are smaller in numbers or take longer to prepare their food have been proven to have no connection to diabetes regardless of calorific contect.
Ross, I think the area IS walkable and becoming more so – it’s right next to the Spring Street hike and bike trail which will eventually connect the Heights to UH downtown.
I walk to the Target all the time – I live about a mile from it.
Areas that aren’t walkable should become more so – just because an area isn’t walkable now doesn’t mean it shouldn’t become walkable in the future. That’s what smart infill development should do.
An unwalkable area is merely an opportunity to make the area more walkable.
Chick Fil A is the same solid-ass place is has been since I was 12. That’s outstanding consistency and service for the last 16 years. I celebrate their entire catalog.
Hmmm. There’s another Al in disagreement with me on the new Ella Carl’s Jr. I’m a Garden Oaksian who is pretty happy about the proximity of hand scooped giant Oreo ice cream sandwiches…
Consistently bland.
@Ross: Eat a Chick-fil-a sandwich with waffle fries, ketchup, and a large coke every day and watch your health deteriorate. Even with replacing the hydroginated oils, that meal has enough sugar, startch and salt to send blood sugar readings off the chart.
And, yeah, I know, Chick-fil-a won the bid to get the land. But just because Nicholas Cage decides to make crappy movies doesn’t mean that I have no right to point out that he is a talented actor and should be doing better work. Same for real estate. Something better could have gone there (apartments, mixed use, similar townhomes). But instead, we get the same crap that is in the burbs.
Jon- (nobody cares).
To be fair Chick-Fil-A is a mixed use development. It has food, a playground for the kids, and free wifi. Work, eat and play!
@Old School, you obviously don’t have a kid who likes Chick-fil-a once in a while. It will be nice to not have to drive to the SW Frwy location.
No fast food restaurant is responsible for diabetes. It’s the people who eat there too often that bring the disease on themselves.
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