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The Ulster Town Board has approved a plan to open a Chick-fil-A restaurant at the site of a former Red Lobster in Ulster. The new 5,198-square-foot fast-food restaurant will feature a drive-thru with two meal ordering canopies and 101 parking spaces. The site plan was unanimously authorized by the Town Board during a meeting on Thursday (October 16), with construction expected to begin after Thanksgiving. The grand opening is anticipated sometime in 2026.
The project will replace the soon-to-be-demolished Red Lobster, which was part of a larger closure of at least 99 locations across the country following the company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. The new Chick-fil-A will occupy 2.66 acres of an 11.2-acre parcel owned by CR Kingston Associates LLC, which also includes a former Sonic drive-thru restaurant and a Shoprite supermarket.
Chick-fil-A, headquartered in College Park, Georgia, has locations in 48 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The chain has faced controversy in the past over its donations to groups opposed to same-sex marriage. However, in 2019, the company announced it would stop donating to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Salvation Army, two organizations frequently criticized by LGBTQ+ advocates.
The new Chick-fil-A is expected to hire between 125 to 150 employees and will operate from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The drive-thru is designed to accommodate 32 vehicles, with traffic expected to enter from Miron Lane and exit onto U.S. Route 9W.