No more Chick-fil-A playgrounds in Houston County? This restaurant closes for remodel.

As the Chick-fil-A on Bass Road in Macon prepares to re-open, the Chick-fil-A on Highway 96 in Bonaire plans to close its doors for a remodel.

Chick-fil-A, located at 790 Highway 96, Bonaire, plans to shut down Sept. 14 and re-open in mid-December, according to a Facebook post. As part of the remodel, the restaurant will lose the children’s playground, according to a comment on the post.

“Our HWY 96 team will be working between our Russell Pkwy and Watson Blvd locations. They are excited to continue to serve you there!” read the post.

The Chick-fil-A on Highway 96 is the only Chick-fil-A in Houston County with a playground, according to the Chick-fil-A restaurant locator on its website.

“Sadly we will be saying goodbye to the playground. Our dining room would lose approximately 75 seats in the remodel if we were to keep it. We want to ensure all of our guests have a place to sit and eat when they come to visit us!” read the comment.

Among the comments, people expressed their concern with losing a playground for the local children.

“Sad that Chick-fil-A cares more about the money than the family. The play area is one of the few indoor playgrounds in the area for kids to get energy out on rainy days. They will probably also lose some lunch crowd as many moms with kids go just for the playground,” wrote Caroline Elizabeth Wood.

A few mentioned the playground as a way to escape the heat during this unusually hot summer.

“We love the indoor playground and have been thankful for it with soo many hot days. It is very frustrating to see this decision being made,” wrote Jamie Kline.

Middle Georgia Chick-fil-A’s have received updates and complete rebuilds in the past few years. The Chick-fil-A on Tom Hill Sr. Boulevard in Macon was torn down and rebuilt in 2021. The Bass Road location in Macon plans to re-open on Tuesday, Sept. 12, after a brief remodel, and the Zebulon Road location plans to begin its demolition and reconstruction in 2024.

While the Highway 96 location is closed, the Watson Boulevard and Russell Parkway locations will remain open, and patrons may place Chick-fil-A Delivery orders at those locations through the Chick-fil-A app, according to the post.

Chick-fil-A Delivery is no longer available at the Highway 96 location. However, third party-delivery, such as DoorDash and Uber Eats, is still available.

This story was originally published September 6, 2023 at 10:22 AM.