First Columbus Chick-fil-A Closes; new Polaris drive-thru opens

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A Chick-fil-A drive-thru that marked the chain’s first stand-alone eatery in central Ohio has closed while a new location has opened on the nearby site of a bulldozed Mackenzie River.

The chain’s restaurant at 8787 Sancus Boulevard closed permanently Sunday after more than 20 years in business, Chick-fil-A confirmed to NBC4. The Sancus Boulevard location opened in 2003 near Polaris Fashion Place and had marked the company’s first stand-alone eatery in central Ohio.

Chick-fil-A’s original Polaris location is closing as a new drive-thru less than a mile away at 1515 Polaris Parkway opened Tuesday. The 5,000-square-foot restaurant features a double-lane drive-thru, an updated dining room, a children’s play area and a designated mobile pickup counter for diners dining in or on the go.

Mackenzie River, a shuttered restaurant that replaced Max and Ermas, closed earlier this year and auctioned off its furniture in March before the building was demolished to make way for the new Polaris Chick-fil-A. The restaurant opened in 2016 after Montana-based Glacier Restaurant Group bought all Max and Erma’s locations and turned several into Mackenzie River eateries.

The Polaris location’s closing reduced the Mackenzie Rive concept to three Ohio restaurants, with one in Pickerington at 1281 Hill Road N., another near Dayton and the third near Cincinnati.

Waylon Willoughby, the franchisee of the Sancus Boulevard location, also operates the new Polaris Chick-fil-A with 100 employees, half of whom are from the former location. Willoughby, who began working as a Chick-fil-A team member at age 15, is also set to open a new Westerville Chick-fil-A at 680 Polaris Parkway in 2025.

“On my journey from growing as a team member to a local owner-operator, it has been so special to experience the growth opportunities here for our team members and the ways our restaurant can positively impact the community,” Willoughby said. “We are so excited to reopen our Polaris Parkway restaurant and look forward to serving the community.”

Mackenzie River was one of several Columbus-area restaurants to be torn down for a new Chick-fil-A, like Tee Jaye’s Country Place, which closed in 2021 to make way for a Chick-fil-A that opened in April. Construction on this property included the preservation of the site’s 20th-century sign, which has been given a facelift with Chick-fil-A branding.

Worthington’s Buca di Beppo is slated for demolition after the site was purchased by the fast-food chain in April, auditor’s office records show. While the restaurant remains open with a yet-to-be-announced closing date, the location’s closing will drop Buca di Beppo to three Ohio eateries: one in downtown Columbus, another in Strongsville and a third near Cincinnati.