Chick-fil-A chickens out of Campbell

West Valley residents craving Chick-fil-A need to go to San Jose, because they won’t find the chicken chain in Campbell.

Chick-fil-A pulled out of its proposal to fill a vacant building along one of Campbell’s major corridors last month, after the eatery’s second attempt to come to the city sparked uproar about increased traffic among residents in the Dry Creek neighborhood. The fast-food giant planned to fill 2060 S. Bascom Ave. with a 6,050-square-foot restaurant with more than 100 seats and 68 parking spots, employing about 100 people.

The South Bascom building has been empty since 2021 after Denny’s closed, but residents who live on streets such as Arroyo Seco Drive and Campbell Avenue made it clear in the past few months they didn’t want Chick-fil-A to fill the spot. Dozens of residents spoke against the project at Campbell Planning Commission meetings, citing concerns over cut-through traffic and packed street parking — even though a traffic study found there would be no significant short-term or long-term effects. The project needed the commission’s approval, but never reached a vote.

Matt Kamkar, planning commission vice chair, said it’s disappointing to lose out on a popular business, but the project needs to fit the location. He and other planning commissioners expressed concerns over the project earlier this year.

“If  their impacts are not reasonably mitigated, then that location is not the right one for the city,” Kamkar told San José Spotlight. “The ideal location for popular businesses that attract from everywhere would be at sites … next to freeway exits that are away from neighborhoods or large shopping centers.”

Chick-fil-A representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the decision.

Chick-fil-A attempted to open a restaurant with a drive-thru on the site in 2020. Planning commissioners approved the project, but the Campbell City Council denied it after receiving a resident appeal and an outpouring of community opposition over traffic congestion caused in other locations, such as the Chick-fil-A in Sunnyvale. The eatery reached back out after losing the bid with the latest proposal that eliminated the drive-thru.

Campbell resident Vikki Essert said the project was too close to homes in its latest iteration and pointed out other Chick-fil-A locations without drive-thrus aren’t as close to residential neighborhoods. There are nine Chick-fil-As in Santa Clara County, five of which are in San Jose, with the newest location in Gilroy.

“This property is literally in people’s backyards. The eastern back third is bordered by homes,” Essert said at a meeting.

Maria Smith along with Essert was part of the Pruneyard/Dry Creek neighbors who worked on outlining the residents’ opposition to the Chick-fil-A location.

“Together, residents met with the city and each other to assess the project and found it to be out of compliance with the city’s general plan and because of the increased traffic (and) incompatible with our neighborhood,” Smith said. “It was a community coming together to preserve what we love about the Pruneyard/Dry Creek neighborhood and it was, again, a successful endeavor.”

The South Bascom site, owned by a realty company, will remain empty for now. Campbell officials are speaking with the property owner about what to do next. The street is slated to change, even without the Chick-fil-A, because multiple housing developments are underway in neighboring San Jose.
Community Development Director Rob Eastwood would like to see a mixed-use project, but said the property owner has only been interested in commercial development, not housing. He said that corner on South Bascom Avenue has been the source of multiple code enforcement violations due to dumping and homeless encampments.

“I’d love to fill (the spot) with a nice restaurant that’s good for the community that the neighborhood would seem to embrace,” Eastwood told San José Spotlight. “I don’t know exactly what that restaurant is, but something like that would be great.”

Contact Annalise Freimarck at [email protected] or follow @annalise_ellen on X, formerly known as Twitter.