Bradenton’s newest Chick-fil-A restaurant has an official opening date this week
After a two-year wait, the newest Chick-fil-A for Manatee County is opening Thursday.
Located at 4311 Manatee Avenue West at the corner of 43rd Street West, the Bradenton City Council approved its location in October 2021.
Dine-in, drive-thru and carry-out is open 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, while the closing time is at 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
Chick-fil-A is closed Sundays.
It’s the fourth Chick-fil-A location in Manatee County and it sits where a Bank of America branch once stood. The other locations in the county are at 4573 14th Street West, 5206 73rd Lane East, and at 5489 University Parkway.
Bradenton’s Nathan Hoeksema as the franchise owner of the Manatee Avenue store. It’s the second one he owns as he also runs the Cortez Plaza restaurant off 14th Street West.
The Atlanta-based fast-food restaurant chain’s new location will have a total of 180 full-time and part-time employees.
Traffic congestion at the Manatee Avenue and 43rd Street West location, where Jessie P. Miller Elementary and the West Gate shopping center sit just to the east, was a concern when it was announced that’s where Chick-fil-A was opening a fourth store in the county.
Chick-fil-A offers dual drive-thru lanes, capable of stacking up to 52 vehicles that would wrap around the perimeter of the 2.1-acre parcel, the Herald previously reported.
“It’s going to be one of the largest parking drive-thrus in the top 2% of Chick-fil-A’s ... countrywide on site,” Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown said.
Manatee County Public Works planned to reconstruct the 43rd Street West intersection at Manatee Avenue with additional turn lanes and extending turn lanes on the northbound approach to Manatee Avenue in an effort to improve traffic flow, the Herald previously reported.
“I know there are some talks with Chick-fil-A corporate and the county, because that’s a county road, on hopefully having the project on the west side by Chick-fil-A done before the next school year,” Brown said. “So that’s the goal .”
Brown said Chick-fil-A is required to have some more “traffic calming” if there’s a problem.
“They might have to hire some off-duty police officers to work the parking lot, or right there on the road like we do with school,” Brown said. “(Jessie P.) Miller has an officer that stands out there and directs traffic in the morning and during school. Chick-fil-A may have to do the same thing. We’re looking at all options.
“...The good part is it’s going to be summer and there will be no Saint Stephen’s, Miller or Manatee High School that creates the excess traffic in that area during the school year. It may be perfect timing to learn what we need to make sure what we’re doing right and continue to grow it.”
This story was originally published May 8, 2023 at 11:56 AM.
