Chick-fil-A to replace former Outback Steakhouse in Seabrook
- The former Outback Steakhouse in Seabrook, New Hampshire, will be demolished and replaced with a Chick-fil-A restaurant.
- The Seabrook Planning Board approved the project with conditions, addressing concerns about potential traffic congestion on Route 1.
- The new Chick-fil-A will be the chain's fifth location in New Hampshire and the second on the Seacoast.
SEABROOK — The former Outback Steakhouse restaurant in Seabrook Commons Plaza will soon be demolished to make way for a new Chick-fil-A.
The town Planning Board voted unanimously on March 3 to approve plans for the project located at 712 Lafayette Road (Route 1) with conditions.
Chick-fil-A, known for its chicken sandwiches and waffle fries, sought approval to tear down the existing building to make way for a new 5,800-square-foot, 70-seat restaurant.
The structure will include an extensive double-lane drive-thru, with parking in the rear of the building.
Seabrook Town Planner Tom Morgan said although indoor dining is an option, Chick-fil-A’s primary service delivery methodology is drive-thru.The Planning Board approved the conditional use permit for the project, which Seabrook requires for a drive-thru in the zone, determining the project met all the criteria for the permit.
No abutters spoke against the drive-thru at the public hearing, nor did any member of the public speak against the development.
Traffic study outlines Chick-fil-A's impact on Route 1
Planning Board members were most concerned about traffic and wanted to ensure drive-thru vehicles don’t back up onto busy Route 1.
According to Chick-fil-A’s traffic consultant Erin Fredette, surveys were done at existing restaurants in the nearby communities of Nashua, Salem and Methuen, Massachusetts. She said the study determined the volume of new trips expected at the chicken restaurant during the week’s highest peak hours of mid-day on Saturday is 400. Those trips include passersby, who are in the area and decide to stop for a bite, and those who drive to the restaurant specifically to dine at Chick-fil-A, known as destination trips.
Seabrook Planning Board’s peer review traffic consultant, Kevin Dandrade, agreed.
According to the traffic study, he said in addition to mid-day Saturday, there are two other peak service times, mid-day weekdays, with 328 trips, and later p.m. weekdays, with 297 trips.
Dandrade recommended doing another traffic count six months after the Seabrook Chick-fil-A is up and running to reaffirm the trip count and see if adjustments are required. Dandrade said the numbers could be used to alter the sequencing of the traffic signals at the intersection, which can help things flow more smoothly.
Planning Board approved new Chick-fil-A with conditions
Based on the additional trips Chick-fil-A is expected to bring to Route 1, the company must pay an exaction fee to Seabrook for use with possible road improvements to its section on Route 1. That exaction fee will be $324,000, the money to be used within six years or returned.
However, Morgan said the company may instead pay a donation of $291,600 to the town. The discounted amount does not have a six-year expiration date and may be kept by Seabrook until it is needed for road enhancements.
Other conditions for approval include conducting a traffic study six months after opening, planting a disease-resistant elm tree in the roadside landscaping, and obtaining the necessary sign permits. Developers must also submit a lighting photometric grid to ensure flood lighting does not pose a hazard to Route 1 drivers and restrict dumpster emptying to between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. to minimize noise disturbances for neighbors.
The Planning Board also required that a month or two before its grand opening, Chick-fil-A management submit a plan with town officials, including police, fire and the DPW, to avoid crowd and traffic problems.
Chick-fil-A in Seabrook would be Seacoast's second location
Chick-fil-A recently opened its first location on the Seacoast in the Newington Park Shopping Center. The Seabrook location will be its fifth restaurant in New Hampshire.
Two others are in Nashua — one at the Pheasant Lane Mall, and the other at the Somerset Plaza — and the third is at Tuscan Village in Salem.
According to published reports, Chick-fil-A grew out of a 1940s popular chicken restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia, to become the largest fast-food restaurant specializing in chicken sandwiches, operating more than 3,000 sites across the nation.
According to a survey by the American Customer Satisfaction Index, Chick-fil-A has been the nation’s favorite fast-food chain for eight years running. In addition, according to Quick Service and Fast Casual Restaurant QSR Magazine, Chick-fil-A was listed as first in its 2023 list of the top 30 quick service chains, earning the most per restaurant.
According to the company, their breaded chicken is made from boneless breast chicken with no added fillers and is pressure-cooked in fully refined peanut oil. Fresh produce, they said, is delivered to Chick-fil-A restaurants up to six times a week.