Get your chicken sandwiches somewhere else – Chick-fil-A’s not coming to Main Street

Love Chick-fil-A?

Join the crowd – and the notorious lunchtime lines at Columbia's Five Points restaurant. Because you won’t be picking up one of their famous sandwiches on Main Street anytime soon.

The Five Points franchise owner’s bid to set up a food cart selling chicken sandwiches, waffle fries, cookies and drinks was shut down by City Council on Tuesday night after hearing lengthy comments from community members.

“Chick-fil-A wants to capitalize on the favorable environment that we have all fostered,” said Matthew Bridges, referring to investments made by business and property owners in the Main Street district. He is the co-owner of Main Street’s Drake’s Duck-In restaurant, which, coincidentally, is well-known for its chicken sandwiches.

Like Bridges, a number of folks opposed to the food cart argued that allowing a national chain to sell food on the sidewalk would undermine investments in brick-and-mortar restaurants that have helped enliven the district in recent years.

“I don’t think that Kirkman Finlay in Five Points would be very happy if Phill Blair from the Whig came down to Five Points and started selling the Whig burger in front of Pawley’s,” said Jeremy Becraft, manager of the Mast General Store that helped jump start the rebirth of Main Street in 2011.

James Bennett, who owns the Five Points restaurant, pushed back against some opponents’ suggestion that a big corporation was trying to take a back-door route into a slice of Main Street’s success.

He is an individual franchise owner, he noted, and pays taxes in addition to significant charitable contributions to the community.

“Some of the concerns that I’m not making an investment are just untrue,” he said to council. “I am the community, and I am trying to create jobs for people who live right here in Columbia.”

Councilman Daniel Rickenmann said he was torn about the food cart decision, wondering “where do we draw the line?” if council denies a vending license to one business.

“We’re picking who we apply the law to, and that’s wrong,” he said.

Council members Howard Duvall, Tameika Isaac Devine, Ed McDowell and Mayor Steve Benjamin voted to deny the cart. Rickenmann and Councilman Sam Davis dissented.

In light of the Chick-fil-A request, council members have agreed to examine and update the city’s sidewalk vending ordinance.

This story was originally published September 5, 2017 at 8:44 PM with the headline "Get your chicken sandwiches somewhere else – Chick-fil-A’s not coming to Main Street."