Slim Chickens hopes to bring its great service and high-quality food to Scio Township

Scio Township might be getting a new restaurant option near Meijer.

As one of the first big steps, the Scio Township Board at its Sept. 12 meeting approved the application of Plaza Street Partners in its request for a conditional use permit. The developer wants to construct a 3,050 square feet fast food restaurant with drive-through on the vacant 1.62 acres of property located at 5505 Arbor Chase Drive.

In their project narrative submitted to the township, Plaza Street Partners said in part, “The proposed Slim Chickens will be a great addition to the region as it is a family-oriented restaurant and brings great service and high-quality chicken food options to the area. The future Slim Chickens will open 7 days a week, employ over 40 full-time workers, and will also result in significant sales tax benefits for Scio Township and the Ann Arbor area.”

Township planners said the site is bound on the north by a commercial building with multiple business, to the east by Zippy Auto Wash and Burger King, to the south by Cambridge Club Apartments, and on the west by the residential Arbor Chase condominiums.

The Scio Township Board with the planning commission’s recommendations approved the request based on some conditions, including that a safe pedestrian access be provided from Arbor Chase Road and from Zeeb Road, and that such safe pedestrian access be placed on the plans, and that the plan be in compliance with requirements attached to the original development of Meijer and the condominium apartment developments.

In its public benefit portion of its project narrative, Plaza Street Partners said “The Site has been vacant and underutilized for numerous years. The proposed high-end chicken restaurant will greatly improve the appearance and use of the property to better serve the surrounding community. The property uses and proposed setback is in alignment with adjacent properties and uses which will benefit the community with an attractive outdoor seating area and a family-oriented restaurant, bringing other food options to the region to better serve the neighboring businesses and their customers.”

Scio Township Supervisor Will Hathaway said the next step is the site plan process. Overall, the project will have to go through multiple steps and another round of review by the planning commission before eventual final action by the Board of Trustees.