A new Chick-fil-A was approved for construction right off campus, at the northeast corner of Presidential Drive and Colonel Glenn Highway, near Wright State University (WSU). The restaurant plans to be open by the start of the Fall 2026 semester.
This location will have indoor and outdoor seating, accommodated with 74 approved parking spots. In addition, there will be two drive-thru lanes.
The approval for this project came from the Beavercreek Planning Committee at their latest monthly meeting, which takes place on the first of each month. The committee voted 4-1 in favor of the restaurant.
The vote against the project came from Jim Fountain. During the meeting, he expressed concerns about departures from the original plans for that land.
“[Chick-fil-A] is a tremendous, successful chain, but does it fit the mission of what the university wanted for that particular corner,” Fountain said.
WSU students, such as Bethany Crank, a Sign Language Interpreting major at WSU, are intrigued to see what the new restaurant will be like and how it will compare to the existing Chick-fil-A on N. Fairfield Road.
“I'm hoping it's a bigger location, because the one closer to [the] Fairfield Mall is always a nightmare, specifically the drive-thru,” Crank said.
Raider’s Row is a proposed development near WSU to expand retail and dining options. This proposal came from Woodard Development, a commercial development and construction firm, with the Chick-fil-A being the first project.
Dave Tyber, one of the site engineers from Woolpert, proposed the new project alongside Jason Woodard, the master developer for the project. They were asked a series of questions by each member of the board, as well as citizens from the public hearing, before a decision was made.
One of the main concerns during the proposal was walkability. At its location, there will be a right-in-only entrance off of Presidential Drive, with a main entrance and exit further down. The drive-thru will be parallel to Colonel Glenn Highway.
The concern would be pedestrians cutting across the drive-thru to get to the restaurant from the sidewalk. Before the vote was taken, Jonathon Myer, Vice Chair of the board, added a clause to the proposal to address this issue.
“I would move to add a condition number 18 that reads ‘a sidewalk access point should be located on the southern portion of the property.’ I’ll be vague to allow the exact location to be determined later,” Myer said.
With board approval, construction is set to begin at the end of the Spring 2026 semester and be completed by the start of the Fall 2026 semester. Students should not expect construction to interfere with the university.
