A request for a conditional use permit for a shopping center on South Mooney Boulevard will be heard at a Sept. 23 Planning Commission meeting.
The permit application includes a study that names the key big box store tenant and popular fast food restaurant, both new to Visalia.
The study details plans to build a 172,000 square-foot Sam's Club warehouse and a 28-pump Sam's gas station as well as a 5500 square-foot Chick-fil-A fast food restaurant.Names are included in traffic studies and letters from commenters to the Mitigated Negative Declaration environmental report.
Fresno developer Jim Shehadey said he could not confirm the details at this time.
The project site is located on the southwest corner of South Mooney and West Visalia Parkway. The center called Visalia Commons is already partially built out with several retail and restaurant uses. Approved by the Planning Commission in September the new developments could be moving forward by next year and even open before the holiday season of 2025.
The coming of Sam's Club to Visalia is big news considering the Walmart-owned club store will now rival Costco just down the block who is building a second location at Riggin and Shirk in Northwest Visalia. Both follow a membership format to shop there. Sam's Club itself is in an expansion mode nationwide with some 599 stores in the US currently.
There is also plenty of excitement in town with the new Chick-fil-A coming to South Mooney. Recently the franchise owner of Tulare filed preliminary plans for a location for a Chick-fil-A there at Cartmill and Highway 99. Chick-fil-A is the third largest quick-service restaurant company in the United States, with more than 3,000 restaurants across the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. In 2023, the company shared plans to expand by 2030 into Europe and Asia.
Chick-fil-A owner-operators live and work in the communities their restaurants serve. The family-owned and privately held company was founded in 1967 by S. Truett Cathy.
Also new to the Visalia Commons shopping center will be a new car wash added near the existing sit down restaurant Texas Roadhouse, and Les Schwab, Panda Express and Dutch Brothers - already in business. A few years ago the Visalia City Council turned down a proposed CarMax dealership here. The site is across Mooney from the Aldi anchored center .
Rumors that Sam' Club and Chick-fil-A might come to the center were first published last November and now it looks certain.
This article originally appeared on Salinas Californian: Visalia site plans confirms Sam's Club and Chick-fil-A for Mooney Boulevard
Most Popular
Comments / 0