Chick-fil-A to take over TGI Fridays on Merritt Island

The rumors are true.

It looks as if Merritt Island will soon be home to Chick-fil-A's next freestanding location.

Brevard County Planning and Development approved a site plan Tuesday, making way for the company to move forward with its efforts to convert the vacant TGI Friday's building into a Chick-fil-A. The building is located at 785 E. Merritt Island Causeway and has been empty since 2016. It sits just outside Merritt Square Mall.

The company has not confirmed what will happen to the existing Chick-fil-A restaurant inside the mall or the project as a whole, despite county records. However, this is typical for businesses still going through the planning stages.

"We are always evaluating potential new locations in the hopes of serving existing and new customers great food with remarkable service," said Brenda Morrow, a spokeswoman for Chick-fil-A, Inc. "We would very much like to have more locations in Merritt Island, but we have no new locations to confirm at this time."

Site plans call for adjustments to the property, including the addition of two drive-through lanes around the building, an outdoor seating area and changes to the overall facade. Engineering work on the site plan was done by Melbourne-based Bowman Consulting. A presentation for the development was presented to the the Merritt Island Redevelopment Agency on October 26, 2017. It was unanimously approved and sent to the county for further review.

A construction timeline has not yet been announced.

Although similar rumors are brewing in Titusville, the company has not made any announcements for another location in North Brevard. Peggy Busacca, executive director of community development for the city of Titusville, said the city has not heard of any plans for a Chick-fil-A restaurant in town.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Saggio is a trends reporter and BDB columnist at FLORIDA TODAY.

Contact Saggio at 321-242-3664, jsaggio@floridatoday.com, or follow her onTwitter: @JessicaJSaggio