Arroyo Grande council says no to Popeyes restaurant

March 28, 2018

Following protest from neighbors, the Arroyo Grande City Council rejected a plan to open a Popeyes fast food restaurant on a vacant city-owned lot that is located near a residential neighborhood. [Cal Coast Times]

The project proposal called for the developer, Glendale firm ELA Foods Inc., to buy the 34,625 square foot property from the city, then build a 2,650 square foot Popeyes restaurant with a drive-thru. The lot is located at 727 El Camino Real by the intersections of both Faeh Avenue and Bell Street.

A single family residential neighborhood is situated directly across Faeh Avenue from the vacant lot. However, the property is zone for mixed use, and vehicles cannot access the site from the residential neighborhood, according to planning documents.

Last month, the Arroyo Grande Planning Commission gave approval for the project.

At the Arroyo Grande council meeting Tuesday, neighbors spoke out against the proposed Popeyes. Neighbors opposed the planned fast food restaurant over noise, lights and traffic concerns and suggested that the city place a different type of business at the location.

No one spoke in favor of the project during public comment. The council voted 4-0 to reject the project.

City officials had said the Popeyes would generate $10,000 to $20,000 a year in added sales tax revenue.


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How will AG ever make up that loss of $10k? Bake sale? Tax on deep fryer grease recycled as bio-fuel?


I bet the franchisee in SLO is jumpin’ for joy, unless of course he or she is the one hoping to expand his or her “Louisiana Fast”! I love Popeyes! I’ll bypass KFC’s all day long to get to one. But I will say this though, neither of them have a damn thing on El Pollo Loco! Mucho, mucho gusto pollo en el

Locomotora!


I see that the “restaurant” is appropriately adjacent to a cemetery. Better to spend more time in your own kitchen


Yeah, the city go go deeper in the red sooner.