Ohio Chick-fil-A being sued over long drive-thru line
An Ohio man is suing a Chick-fil-A location because he says the line of cars in the drive-thru block the entrance to his own business.
WTOL out of Toledo, Ohio, reported Mario Kiezi is the owner of Bulk Beverage Co., which is located in a shopping center behind Chick-fil-A.
According to the lawsuit, filed in Lucas County Court, the long lines at the Chick-fil-A impedes traffic that could be coming to businesses in the shopping plaza, including Bulk Beverage, which recently opened in the area.
Kiezi is suing Chick-fil-A and Mona Real Estate, which owns the property.
“As they back up and get busy, their line stacks in front of the other locally owned businesses, including ours,” A.J. Faulkner, Bulk Beverage general manager, told the local news station.
Security camera footage from Bulk Beverage shows a line of cars going down one of the aisles of the parking lot in front of the business, where other cars could be blocked in existing spots.
The backups impact the parking lot for Bulk Beverage and other businesses in the plaza, Faulkner said.
“It can be a dangerous situation where there’s been accidents on our lot,” Faulkner said. “There’s been near misses and customers that have complained in our first two weeks of business of an unsafe environment in the parking lot.”
According to the local station, the suit isn’t about money, but getting Chick-fil-A and Mona Real Estate to make things right.
“It brings extra traffic to our business,” Faulkner said. “But on a daily basis they do get very busy during the lunch rush and at nighttime as well during dinnertime as one of our neighbors.”
Mona Real Estate has yet to sign off on changes that the lawsuit is calling for, WTOL reported. Chick-fil-A has not responded to the station’s request for comment at the time of this story’s publication.
Chick-fil-A currently offers curbside pick up for mobile orders through its app. Customers place their order on the app and can park in one of several designated parking spots to have their meals brought to them rather than waiting in a drive-thru line.
About the Author
Kelcie Willis is a writer and online content producer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Sociology from the University of Georgia. At the AJC, she covers state, regional and national news with the Content Curation Desk.
