A new Chick-fil-A location is coming to the Palouse, with construction expected to begin this spring.
The new location will be located at the Palouse Place, formally the Palouse Mall. It will be replacing the old Sangria Grille location that closed in April 2021.
Moscow City Administrator Bill Belknap told the Moscow-Pullman Daily News the City of Moscow is reviewing building plans submitted by Chick-fil-A. With these plans almost approved, construction is expected to begin this spring or summer.
Once construction is complete, Moscow will have two Chick-fil-A locations. The other location will remain in the Idaho Student Union Building on the University of Idaho campus, said Kris Raasch, Idaho Eats operations director.
While the location is a new one for the Palouse, Chick-fil-A still does not have a location in Pullman.
A notable difference between Pullman and Moscow is minimum wage. Despite being less than 10 miles apart, Pullman’s minimum wage is more than twice that of Moscow.
In Pullman, minimum wage is $16.66, the same as most of Washington. In Moscow, the minimum wage is $7.25, the same as the rest of Idaho and the federal minimum wage.
Property tax is another notable factor, with Pullman’s once again being more than double that of Moscow. The median property tax rate in Pullman is 1.48% compared to Moscow’s median property tax rate of 0.7%, according to Ownwell.
These factors could contribute to less businesses opening doors in Pullman due to higher costs associated with operating in Pullman.
Just last September, Pullman Village Centre Cinemas permanently closed after 21 years of operating in Pullman. The theater cited increasing property tax and rising Washington minimum wage, according to an earlier Daily Evergreen article.
Another factor to consider is corporate. It is the company, not franchise owners, that chooses where the limited new locations are opened each year, according to Chick-fil-A.
“Chick-fil-A opens a limited number of restaurants each year,” Chick-fil-A said. “While we receive hundreds of suggestions from customers on where they would like to see a new Chick-fil-A restaurant, the real estate team at Chick-fil-A, Inc. is responsible for selecting all new locations based on corporate goals for expansion in specifically targeted markets and other relevant business factors.”
