{"id":285048,"date":"2026-05-26T18:52:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T18:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/285048\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T18:52:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T18:52:12","slug":"may-29-opening-set-for-contested-chick-fil-a-in-oceanway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/285048\/","title":{"rendered":"May 29 opening set for contested Chick-fil-A in Oceanway"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Chick-fil-A restaurant that drew opposition from dozens of homeowners in the North Creek subdivision during its planning stages is scheduled to open May 29.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The restaurant, identified as Chick-fil-A Duval Station in a May 26 news release, is at 705 Duval Station Road in North Jacksonville, across the street from First Coast High School.<\/p>\n

The restaurant\u2019s opening is set for 6 a.m., with hours from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chick-fil-A Inc. said it selected Chuck Campbell to be the local owner-operator of the site. It is Campbell\u2019s second restaurant in Jacksonville, following Chick-fil-A River City Marketplace.<\/p>\n

The company said that to celebrate the opening it is donating $25,000 to Feeding Northeast Florida.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In addition, it will give away a free entree or kid\u2019s meal in the restaurant or drive-thru to guests dressed in cow spots or wearing a cow-spotted accessory on opening day. The giveaway is themed on the company\u2019s familiar advertisements, in which cows encourage people to \u201cEat Mor Chikin.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The city issued a permit Nov. 21, 2025, for W.H. Bass Inc. to build a 5,033-square-foot fast-food restaurant with a dual drive-thru on the 1.39-acre site. The permit listed the project cost as $1.3 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It came after the city issued a site-clearing permit Nov. 11 at $182,000.<\/p>\n

Including permits for a dumpster enclosure and two canopies for meal delivery and order points, total construction costs were nearly $1.6 million.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The site plan for the Chick-fil-A at 705 Duval Station Road in North Jacksonville.<\/p>\n

Special to the Daily RecordA turbulent history<\/p>\n

The proposed restaurant was the topic of dozens of hours of debate in Jacksonville City Council and committee meetings after it emerged in early 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dozens of residents spoke numerous times against a rezoning request for the project, raising concerns about traffic safety, congestion, crime and a reduction of property values stemming from the restaurant.<\/p>\n

A prominent complaint was the site\u2019s close proximity to the North Creek subdivision, where access to the Chick-fil-A off of Lady Lake Road has customers arriving by car entering through the North Creek subdivision entrance on Bradley Cove Road or through a neighboring shopping center parking lot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Neighbors contended that at peak times, traffic from the restaurant would spill over and block access to the North Creek subdivision.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The site of the Chick-fil-A at 705 Duval Station Road in North Jacksonville was cleared of trees. Heavy equipment sits at the site Nov. 21, 2025.<\/p>\n

Photo by Monty ZickuhrCouncil grants approval<\/p>\n

After an initial rezoning request disappeared amid neighborhood opposition and among some city leaders, the project reemerged in December 2023. Once again, it prompted complaints and numerous hours of discussion before Council voted 12-7 in June 2024 to change the zoning to Planned Unit Development from a PUD that had allowed for a fast-food restaurant with a single drive-thru on the site.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A PUD is a special zoning district that allows for a mix of residential, commercial and industrial uses within a single district.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the split Council vote from June 2024, those in opposition cited concerns. Among those who supported the rezoning, a concern was that denying the rezoning could prompt a lawsuit from Chick-fil-A based on Council having approved the earlier rezoning for a fast-food restaurant. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Several Land Use and Zoning Committee members noted that a previous Council had approved rezoning in 2015 for a fast-food restaurant with a single drive-thru, and raised concerns that denying Chick-fil-A\u2019s rezoning request could prompt the chain to sue the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The June 2024 approval came after the city required a new traffic light at Bradley Cove and Duval Station roads, which Chick-fil-A agreed to fund, and a continuous right-turn lane into the restaurant.<\/p>\n

\"Chick-fil-A\"<\/p>\n

Chick-fil-A<\/p>\n

The restaurant opens<\/p>\n

Among other details in the May 26 news release, Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A said Campbell\u2019s River City Marketplace location had awarded 78 employees more than $135,000 in company-funded scholarships and had donated more than 26,000 pounds of food through a company-sponsored program for individuals in need.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chick-fil-A says its restaurants are owned and operated by a single individual through a model that supports reinvestment into the local economy by local entrepreneurs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Campbell, the owner-operator of the River City Marketplace since 2006, expressed in the release that he was \u201cgrateful for the support and care the Jacksonville community has poured into our team and family for more than 20 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look forward to this opportunity to deepen our impact, bringing people together and giving back to causes that are personal to our community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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