What happened to the popular Chick-fil-A in Matthews?

Piles of rubble, old plastic chairs, scraps of metal and chunks of concrete litter the corner site near the ABC store.

What’s happening: The fast-food joint was recently torn down and a new building will soon go up in its place.

Why it matters: It’s hard to find a Chick-fil-A in Charlotte without a constant line snaking around its building. In recent years, Chick-fil-A has been renovating certain restaurants and turning them into drive-thru-only as a way to alleviate traffic — that was the case with the Woodlawn location, for instance. But that’s not exactly what’s happening in Matthews.

• Instead, the new building will be a free-standing restaurant with a dining room.

“The rebuild will allow for overall improvements to the restaurant and will better and more efficiently serve the Matthews community,” a company spokesperson said in an email.

The spokesperson shared a statement from the company that read in part: “We look forward to remaining part of the Matthews community and continuing to serve our customers with great food and remarkable service.”

• Timing: Construction is expected to wrap up in spring 2023, assuming there are no delays.
• It is unclear how the new building will differ from the old one; the spokesperson did not respond to additional questions.