Chick-fil-A Tests Downtown KC With a Pop-Up - and Locals are Hungry for More

A pop-up that packed the house

By noon on opening day, the line at 1000 Walnut St. #205 snaked far beyond the restaurant doors and into the lobby. Word had spread quickly that Chick-fil-A was serving out of the former Neo Delicatessen space, and downtown workers showed up in force. Many customers cheered the arrival, but more than a few chattered in line when they learned the meals were prepared off-site and the concept is - at least for now - temporary.

"We wanted to get Chick-fil-A into parts of the city that don't have a restaurant in close vicinity."

Meet the operator betting on downtown

The brains behind the experiment is Dustin Andrews, owner-operator of the Chick-fil-A at 113th & Nall in Overland Park. After two and a half years running that busy suburban storefront, Andrews wanted to "get Chick-fil-A into parts of the city that don't have a restaurant in close vicinity." His pop-up is classified internally as an additional distribution point: a limited-menu outpost that moves pre-cooked food into under-served neighborhoods while keeping quality controls tight.

Andrews has inked a short-term contract a the Walnut location - roughly 90 days - with an option to extend. The arrangement is intentional "very friendly and open-ended," giving both parties room to test demand before committing to a full build-out.

Why downtown, and why now?

The timing makes sense. Downtown Kansas City's return-to-office rate hit 76% of 2019 levels by mid-2024 - one of the strongest rebounds among major US cities. Yet even with workers back, roughly 17% of office space sits vacant, below the national average but still enough to keep lunch traffic from reaching pre-COVID highs. The result is a lunch scene thinner than locals remember: Burger King's closure at 1350 Walnut removed one of the few remaining quick/easy lunch spots, leaving Chipotle, Jimmy John's and Subway as the default "fast" options.

Two possible futures for 1000 Walnut

The former Neo Delicatessen space includes a fully equipped - but currently idle - commercial kitchen. For now, Chick-fil-A sandwiches, nuggets and salads arrive each morning (and then periodically throughout the day as needed) from Andrews' Overland Park restaurant, with waffle fries temporarily off the menu. But Andrews confirms he's exploring two paths:

1. Stay pop-up, with a bit of polish. Keep producing off-site yet invest in fresh paint, new furnishings, and activating the upstairs seating to give the pop-up a more intentional, semi-permanent feel.

2. Activate the kitchen. Fire up the fryers and hoods, bring in-booth cooking downtown, and evolve into a full Chick-fil-A restaurant if corporate green-lights the move.

Either option would refresh a storefront whose decor still sports Neo's neon green/maroon walls and metal cafe tables.

Early lessons for entrepreneurs

Andrews' lean test-and-learn approach offers a playbook for other founders:

• Prove demand before heavy cap-ex. A low-commitment lease and minimal build-out lower risk while revealing real-world taction.

• Leverage under-utilized assets. An idle kitchen and vacant lunch market create instant upside for a savvy operator.

• Ride the downtown rebound. Foot-traffic metrics are trending up, but service gaps remain - ripe ground for innovative food concepts, ghost kitchens and tech-enabled delivery hubs.

The bottom line

Downtown workers have spoken: they want Chick-fil-A - and they would like it cooked onsite. Whether Andrews scales up or keeps the streamlined model, the pop-up's first week frenzy is a hopeful sign that Kansas City's core can once again support a vibrant, varied lunch scene. For a district hungry for both tenants and treats, the temporary chicken shop in Suite #205 might be the spark that gets the fryers, and downtown Kansas City, sizzling again.

Catch the limited Chick-fil-A lineup Monday-Friday, 7 am to 2pm. We'll update this article if/when a firm close date is set.