Port of Centralia signs off on Chick-fil-A designs
May 8-The arrival of Chick-fil-A at Centralia Station appears certain after the Port of Centralia Commission approved plans for the site located across Art Lehman Drive from WinCo.
The port commission unanimously approved a site plan review for a long awaited Chick-fil-A location during a meeting on Wednesday afternoon.
The approval means the port finds the designs meet the requirements included in its master plan.
The approval did include approving two small exceptions to that plan to allow for slightly narrower driving lanes and extra signage. The port officially sold the plot of land for the new Chick-fil-A just over a year ago in March 2025.
Port commissioners approved the plan after some brief comments on the exceptions to the port's master plans. Port Commissioner Ally Pickard addressed both exceptions, stating that she was happy with the extra signage considering that Chick-fil-A uses an uncommon double drive-through lane that requires more signs for directing traffic.
She and Port Commissioner Peter Lahmann said they were not concerned with the slightly narrower driving lanes in the plans. The site plan proposes 24-foot-wide driving lanes, which is 1 foot narrower than the minimum of 25 feet called for in the port's master plan.
According to the commissioners, the 25-foot lanes are best practice for the port because tenant properties are often involved in industrial industries that see lots of large trucks. They appeared more than satisfied with the slightly smaller lanes for the food service location.
"Ours in the port master plan is wider because we usually deal with construction," Pickard said. "We usually deal with trucks, semi-trucks and things like that."
Interim Port Commissioner Amy Graber mentioned that the Chick-fil-A team had met with the City of Centralia earlier in the week for a scheduled site plan review of the proposed designs. According to Graber, the meeting went well and the site is "moving along." Graber did not provide additional information on a timeline for development of the site.
According to an agenda for the City of Centralia Site Plan Review Committee, the Chick-fil-A team appeared at its Monday, May 4, meeting. The agenda includes detailed plans for the site and the roughly 5,000-square-foot building that will host the popular fast food chicken restaurant.
The memorandum submitted by Chick-fil-A to the city for design approval included a recommendation for approval by Centralia City Engineer Patty Page. The document deals mostly with traffic management and includes a traffic mitigation plan for a potential grand opening event, but provides no further timeline.
The memorandum also provides a glimpse into the other nearby developments, including that an extra roadway that will provide access to the restaurant will also provide access to a planned electric vehicle charging site and a quick oil change service location.
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