Here’s the latest on the new Chick-fil-A and Chipotle restaurants in Ocean Springs
People eagerly await two fan-favorite restaurants announced for Ocean Springs.
The announcement came nine months ago, in June 2024, that Chipotle Mexican Grill and Chick-fil-A would be built on the site of the former Twin Pines motel. It’s on U.S. 90, just east of the Ocean Springs hospital.
They are still coming. And more restaurants could be on the way, said Alderman Mike Impey.
“That piece of property is subdivided into four commercial lots. Chipotle and Chick-fil-A will be on the south side,” Impey said, along U.S. 90.
Two more available lots are on the north side of the property that extends from the highway to Groveland Road, he said, “and I know they’re actively recruiting other potential restaurants for that same location. So it could be like a four-restaurant corner there.”
The original plans called for Chipotle to be built first on the west side of the property, followed about four to six months later by Chick-fil-A, he said.
With the location, immediately to the east of the new Singing River Medical Training Academy, the restaurants will have built-in customers from the students who can walk over, he said.
Making progress
While people frequently comment on social media they aren’t seeing anything happening at the site, the developers are making progress.
The city building department issued a permit to Chipotle to clear the lot, and the design process is underway.
“The project has gone through sketch plat, preliminary plat and board of aldermen final approval,” said Hanna Sullivan, Ocean Springs’ planning office administrator.
The developers are still working on the final plot, she said, and once that goes through the design review and gets final city approval, a building permit will be issued and construction can begin.
Waiting for more
He’s heard Ocean Springs residents asking for a Chick-fil-A in the city for years, Impey said, including his daughter Leslie. Other Chick-fil-A restaurants are miles away in Pascagoula, Biloxi, Gulfport and D’Iberville, and the only other Chipotle on the Coast is in D’Iberville.
The area where the restaurants will open is part of the highway expansion of U.S. 90 from four to six lanes from downtown Ocean Springs to Gautier.
A bike and walking trail connecting the cities is part of the project and Impey said he’s also getting a lot of questions from people eager to know when that will start.
This story was originally published March 15, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
