Chick-fil-A buys San Jose site near busy intersection and large retailer

Restaurant chain has been seeking Bay Area sites

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Chick-fil-AAccording to public records, A has purchased a parcel near a busy San Jose intersection in a real estate transaction that could signal the restaurant chain’s expansion.

According to documents filed with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office on Oct. 6, the fast-food restaurant company paid $4.5 million for a parcel near the intersection of Silver Creek Road and East Capitol Expressway.

Chick-fil-According to county real estate records, A paid all cash for the parcel.

The site is currently a surface parking lot with frontage on Silver Creek Road.

According to property records, Target sold the parcel to Chick-fil-A. Target has one of its big-box stores in the same shopping center.

Target retained ownership of its store site and an adjacent surface parking lot following the property transaction, according to the grant deed and other documents on file with the county.

Chick-fil-A became a lightning rod for controversy around 2010 when it was revealed that the company used the Winshape Foundation to donate to groups that oppose same-sex marriage. S. Truett Cathy, the late founder of Chick-fil-A, founded Winshape.

Georgia-based Chick-fil-A has encountered varying degrees of opposition to its plans to open new restaurant locations across the United States.

More than a decade ago, the mayor of Boston and a Chicago alderman vowed to stop Chick-fil-A franchise expansion in their respective cities.

Despite these statements, Chick-fil-A opened a Chicago location in 2011 and a Boston location in 2022.

In 2019, the San Jose City Council voted to display rainbow and transgender flags near a Chick-fil-A restaurant in the airport’s Terminal B section to show support for LGBTQ rights.

Other Chick-fil-A locations in San Jose and the Bay Area have opened with less controversy.

Chick-fil-A did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the possibility of a new restaurant at the recently purchased location on Silver Creek Road.

The land is approximately three-fourths of an acre in size. It is right on the corner of Silver Creek and East Capitol, next to a Chevron gas station and a car wash.

Other restaurants in the San Jose shopping center where Chick-fil-A now has a location include The Boiling Crab and Pho Papa. A Red Lobster restaurant is located about a block away.