One of the more frequent questions asked on Battle Ground-centric Facebook community groups as of late has been: “Is IHOP still coming?”
Well, as it turns out, the question should be asking if Super Chix, a chicken-centric fast food restaurant, is still coming to the new development currently sitting vacant near Scotton Way and State Route 503.
Recently, a “for lease” sign appeared on the property, while “opening soon” signs remained on a construction fence for both IHOP and Super Chix. That sign has sparked a frenzy throughout local Facebook groups.
In March, The Reflector called the number on the for lease sign, and a representative of the leasing agency only provided off-record information at the time. On March 19, The Reflector left a voicemail with Super Chix CEO Darryl Neider, but has not received a response. On March 25, The Reflector emailed Super Chix’s corporate email address, one listed for more information for a new location in Tukwila in the Seattle area, but received no response — including a follow-up attempt on April 15.
Many answers to the questions on Facebook believe that IHOP was the business backing out of the retail location. But the details with both the project and the for lease sign did not add up to those conclusions.
In further detail, the for lease sign generically says that 2,800 square feet of retail space is available for lease. While looking at the SRS (a commercial real estate company) website, the space for lease is 2,616 square feet at 1101 Southwest Scotton Way. By comparing the 2024 site plans, the square footage for lease matches the proposed Super Chix space identically.
The IHOP space is proposed at 3,622 square feet.
On April 16, a representative for the owner of the space confirmed on record that IHOP is committed to the location in Battle Ground, while Super Chix is “up in the air.” The representative, who wished to not be named, also added that the space for lease is “first come, first serve.”
The marketing brochure for the space for lease lists that it is co-located in a new building with IHOP and is currently under development. The marketing brochure continues to squash the Facebook questions and answers by illustrating the property with IHOP branding.
The proposed site plan includes 60 parking stalls, which are currently paved and striped while the building sits vacant. The project is predicted to generate 832 daily trips, according to the original project narrative.
According to the city of Battle Ground public information portal, as of Friday, April 24, the project has a total of $578,339.51 in fees. Each aspect to the project case progress all sat below 30% completed.
There remains no available date for IHOP’s grand opening.
