Chick-fil-A gets permit for next Joliet restaurant

Chick-fil-A this week got the drive-thru permit it wants for a second Joliet restaurant.

The Joliet City Council on Tuesday approved the permit for a future Chick-fil-A at 201 S. Larkin Ave., now the site of a closed Steak ‘n Shake restaurant.

Chick-fil-A plans to demolish the Steak ‘n Shake building and construct its own 5,000-square-foot building with dual drive-thru lanes, according to city staff.

Construction is expected to start in spring 2025, and an opening date has not been set, according to an engineer representing Chick-fil-A at a City Council committee meeting this week.

The restaurant would be the second in Joliet for Chick-fil-A, which opened in January 2021 at 2705 Plainfield Road.

The Larkin Avenue location is near an Interstate 80 interchange, which will be rebuilt as part of the state’s $1.3 billion I-80 project that goes through Joliet.