The long-dead TGI Fridays at South Shore Mall in Bay Shore is one big step closer to becoming a Chick-fil-A. Islip Town's planning board unanimously voted earlier this month to back a plan for a new restaurant on the site, though the project still needs site-plan approval and a building permit before anyone breaks ground.
The board granted Chick-fil-A a fast-food permit for the property and approved the company's request for outdoor seating, according to Newsday. Chick-fil-A attorney Denise J. Vista laid out the restaurant's planned size, drive-thru configuration and seating details to the board. The proposal calls for demolishing the former 7,100-square-foot TGI Fridays building and putting up a 5,100-square-foot restaurant in its place, with a double drive-thru lane, 88 indoor seats and 16 outdoor seats.
The TGI Fridays at the site closed back in January 2024, leaving a conspicuous gap along Sunrise Highway at the sprawling 87-acre mall property. The proposed Chick-fil-A would sit on about 2 acres at the southeast corner of that property, according to the same Newsday report — though an earlier account from Long Island Business News described a smaller 1.5-acre site and a larger 5,500-square-foot restaurant with two drive-thru windows, figures that don't match the specs presented to the planning board this month.
Why The Site Still Needs Work
Getting to this point wasn't just about drive-thru lanes and seat counts. As part of its approval, the planning board is requiring Chick-fil-A to add new landscaping around the property's perimeter, replace some of the mall's dilapidated fencing and repair the mall's parking lot. Islip Town Senior Planner Kellie Woznick, who recommended approval of the plan, described that parking lot as being in great disrepair.
Woznick also addressed concerns about the restaurant's hours and its proximity to nearby homes, the station's report notes. The proposed Chick-fil-A would operate from 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., earlier than the roughly 7 a.m. opening typical of most other restaurants at South Shore Mall, but Woznick said that earlier start was acceptable to town staff. She also noted the building sits close to Sunrise Highway, with the nearest home more than 300 feet away, and said busy roads like Sunrise are exactly where the town typically wants fast-food restaurants.
Construction Timeline Still A Mystery
Even with the planning board's backing, the project isn't a done deal. An Islip spokesperson said the proposed restaurant still needs site-plan approval and a building permit, meaning additional town approvals must come through before construction can proceed. Chick-fil-A has not said when construction might begin or when the location might open for business.
The company has previously confirmed its interest in the site is real. In a statement reported by Greater Long Island, Chick-fil-A said it is actively pursuing a new location in the Bay Shore area while acknowledging it remains early in the process and is still working with local officials. The company has pointed to its track record elsewhere on Long Island, noting that each locally owned and operated restaurant it opens tends to create 80 to 120 jobs.
Part Of A Broader Long Island Push
The Bay Shore location would add to Chick-fil-A's existing footprint of about a dozen restaurants across Nassau and Suffolk counties, per Long Island Business News. The chain opened a new restaurant in Bohemia in March even as the Bay Shore Fridays property continued to sit vacant and deteriorate, according to Greater Long Island. Another Chick-fil-A, a 5,500-square-foot location at Lake Shore Plaza in Lake Ronkonkoma, was expected to open in summer 2026.
Not every Long Island Chick-fil-A proposal has made it across the finish line. The company recently pulled the plug on a long-planned restaurant at the Great South Bay Shopping Center in West Babylon after that project sat before the Babylon Town Planning Board for more than four years, even after a modified site plan won unanimous approval in September 2025. That history leaves the Bay Shore outcome as something local officials and hungry Long Islanders alike will be watching closely.
