There is only one place that is well-known for always having service that matches their food quality. With lines always wrapped around the building but yet they perfect your order seamlessly, it leaves consumers always wanting more. This beloved American fast-food chain is finally making a long-awaited visit to our very own Kokomo, Indiana. Their crispy chicken sandwiches and perfectly salted waffle fries will soon be filling the mouths of citizens all over this town. That’s right, Chick-fil-A is soon to be a go-to spot for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for all the local Kokomoans. Here is everything you need to know about the process of bringing this fan favorite to the town of Kokomo.
Why the delay?
Chick-fil-A has been planning a location in Kokomo for years. In fact, Tyler Juranovich from the Kokomo Tribune stated in his article that Chick-fil-A’s plan has been public since December of 2023. For two years now, this project has been on hold, discussed, debated, and passed. The main concern that has been postponing this grand opening for so long is the issue of the location. As Juranovich’s article states, the company had originally planned on the location being on Imperial Drive. (For those of you who don’t know Kokomo like the back of your hand, Imperial Drive is the road across the street from Chili’s and Starbucks.) However, this brought concerns for the homeowners who lived along that road. The owners were most concerned about the traffic issues this would cause. So, after much debate, the location of the up-and-coming Chick-fil-A will be in the Hobby Lobby parking lot.
The Traffic Jam
It is well known, that there is already heavy traffic flow in this area of Kokomo. As said in the Kokomo Tribune’s Juranovich article, the initial plans were postponed by Jon Pyke after he asked the company to include their plans for opening up Imperial Drive which would be south of the restaurant. This would help ease traffic flow and create another entrance and exit. After months of discussion, there was a new development plan that called for a connecting parking lot between the mall and Imperial Drive. This did not please the citizens of the nearby subdivision that is located on Imperial Drive. Board member, Cathy Strover, provided a very logical point of view of the traffic. Strover said, “There have been 8 fatalities, and none of those fatalities was the driver impaired. The total number of cars (based on 2023 numbers) per day that go through that intersection is 33,100. After doing the numbers on a Chick-fil-A in a town, the size of Kokomo, you have 60% of the traffic from drive-throughs, 37% from customers who actually drive up and park to go into the restaurant, and 3% who walk up, if you take those number by the average amount of customers that a Chick-fil-A has a day, you are adding around an extra 1,000 plus vehicles per day to that intersection.” However, the restaurant still remained a topic for several months.
How did it get approved?
There were months of intense debate over this new addition. With traffic concerns, unhappy homeowners, and multiple losing votes, it seemed as if nobody ever wanted Chick-fil-A to come to Kokomo in the first place. In January of this year, The Kokomo Commissions board held their first voting for the project which resulted in 5-4 against the project, due to high traffic concerns. However, Chic-Fil-A remained consistent and ended up changing not only its plans but also others’ minds. With the company being able to adjust to the traffic concerns, things began to change. President of the Plan Commission, Mike Besser, and member of the Commission, Cathy Strover, soon changed their votes from neighs to yays. Finally, on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, there was an 8-0 vote to approve the development plan for Chick-fil-A.
How many is too many?
With the soon-to-be addition of Chick-fil-A, there will be a total of three chicken joints right in that area of Kokomo. Those three include Cane’s, Popeyes, and now Chick-fil-A. I, personally, do not see the problem with this, however, others may disagree. With the bountiful selection of chicken to choose from there is much more opportunity for new business in Kokomo. People from throughout the county will come to support their favorite chains no matter the competitors. So whether you are more of a Cane’s chicken strip over a Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich, your business is boosting Kokomo’s economy.
What is to come
All in all, we now know that Chick-fil-A is officially coming to Kokomo. Though we may not know the date of the grand opening, I am sure we can all sleep better at night without the restlessness of not knowing if we could actually bring that beloved chicken to Kokomo. What we also know from The Kokomo Tribune’s Juranovich article is the construction to build a Chick-fil-A only takes around six months. So, whenever we receive the official open date, prepare to set your calendars and support not only your favorite chicken chain but also your town.
