First Chick-fil-A Restaurant in City Neighborhood Planned
Fast-food franchise boasts 2,700 locations; this one will be at 27th and Morgan.
Proposed Chick-fil-A, 2701 W. Morgan Ave. Rendering by Chipman Design Architecture Inc.
A new location for Chick-fil-A is in the works on the South Side.
It’s the first location in a city neighborhood for the company, which has a stand in Fiserv Forum and operates a number of suburban locations including restaurants in Brookfield, Glendale, Greendale, Oak Creek, Menomonee Falls and West Allis.
Milwaukee’s Chick-fil-A is proposed to open at 2701 W. Morgan Ave., the current site of Zebb’s Family Restaurant.
“We are always evaluating potential new locations in the hopes of serving existing and new customers great food with remarkable service,” Chick-fil-A, Inc. said in a statement. “We would very much like to have more restaurants in the Milwaukee area, but we have no new locations to confirm at this time.”
Site plans submitted to the city show that the Chick-fil-A building would be 4,958 square feet, with 68 seats inside and 12 more outside. The restaurant would have two full drive-thru lanes, a design created amid the COVID-19 pandemic to increase efficiency and prevent back-ups.
Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A operates more than 2,700 restaurants across 47 states, Washington, D.C., Canada and Puerto Rico with the slogan “Eat Mor Chikin.”
The restaurant specializes in chicken sandwiches, also offering chicken strips, nuggets, salads and wraps. Sides include kale salad, mac and cheese, waffle-cut fries, fruit, chicken noodle soup and more. Ice cream, shakes and other sweet treats, as well as tea and lemonade are also available. The company also retails an assortment of sauces including barbeque, honey mustard and more, which can be purchased by the 8-ounce bottle.
S. Truett Cathy founded Chick-fil-A in 1967. Although known for its strong emphasis on customer service, the company has come under fire in recent years for its donations to anti-LGBTQ groups, as well as comments from Dan Cathy, the company’s former president. In 2019, the company announced that it would end donations to Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, both of which have received backlash for their positions on LGBTQ rights.
The 41,886-square-foot site for the planned W. Morgan Avenue Chick-fil-A includes a lot of land for parking and the drive-thru lanes. The site is owned by Northbrook, Illinois-based Loomis Centre LLC. The company owns the adjacent Loomis Center retail complex, which includes stores from Office Max, Michaels, Ross Dress for Less, Five Below and Marshalls as well as a Planet Fitness gym.
It sold the property to the south of the proposed restaurant in 2022, after developing a Panera Bread store on the site.
Zebb’s opened in 1994 and is currently owned by Prokopios (Peter) Liapis. A representative of the restaurant told Urban Milwaukee that Zebb’s has no plans to close at this time.
“We aren’t going anywhere,” he said.
As of Monday, the restaurant remains open, serving American-focused breakfast, lunch and dinner dishes as well as Greek and Italian specialties. Documents submitted to the city show Chick-fil-A replacing Zebb’s.
Photos
Ahhh..ZEBBS…previously MARCUS BIG BOY (and across the street was CAPTAIN’S before they remodeled it into the OMEGA). Great times all the way back to the 1970’s.
Ha! Yes, that WAS Big Boy and I totally forgot about the Captain’s Steak Joynt across the street! (Interesting: I always knew Marc’s Big Boy was Marcus but didn’t know until I looked it up a couple minutes ago that Captain’s was also a local Marcus chain Also, a KFC franchisee.)
Poor Zebb’s…apparently out of the loop or in denial on this move.
SIDE NOTE: Perhaps when the city releases its revised plans for Vel Phillips Plaza this Thursday, it’s cafe space on the corner of 5th and Wisconsin will be a great spot for a new Big Boy—where it existed until closed decades ago…and right across the street from the old Marc Plaza…and perhaps across the street from Marcus Corp.’s new HQ in 310W…) 😉
Yup…I think that that Marc’s building and apartments were torn down in 1985. There were thoughts and some plans for extending the GRAND AVENUE westward to the Schroeder/Marc Plaza/Hilton hotel back then, with a giant glass atrium over the main hotel entrance on 5th and closing off the street.
But ownership contributes big bucks to the flaming right. Never tasted their chicken and never will.