Palm Desert Chick-fil-A, Coachella Valley's first, to open later this month

Coachella Valley-based lovers of fried chicken, deceptively sugary lemonade and cute cows will soon, finally, have a Chick-fil-A to call their own. 

The Georgia-based fried chicken restaurant has set an opening date for its new Palm Desert location: Thursday, July 14, according to its website. 

Known for its beloved sandwiches, bovine-themed marketing and Christian ethic (which has included a history of controversy surrounding donations made by the company to anti-LGBTQ groups as well as past statements made by its CEO opposing same-sex marriage), Chick-fil-A has nearly 2,600 locations nationwide.

But until now, none of those locations have been in the Coachella Valley, leaving area residents to schlep down Interstate 10 all the way to Yucaipa to get their fix. 

But that will all change when the new restaurant, which will include a drive-thru, opens next week on the northeast corner of Monterey Avenue and Dinah Shore Drive just south of the interstate. 

The restaurant, which was first announced last summer, is part of the new Monterey Crossing, a 17-acre mixed-use commercial development that has been in the works for years and is currently under construction.

Other planned tenants include Jersey Mike's Subs, The Habit Burger Grill and a Quick Quack Car Wash with several spots still to be filled, according to the website for the Fountainhead Development firm behind the project. A Car Max car dealership has been located adjacent to the site since 2019.

In total, the site will include 130,000 square feet of commercial, dining and automotive uses, Fountainhead Development said last year. 

The store will also be open from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday (of course, all Chick-fil-A stores are famously closed on Sundays). That's one hour later than the Chick-fil-A in Yucaipa. In addition to its famous sandwiches and nuggets, Chick-fil-A also serves breakfast items, including a breakfast burrito and a chicken biscuit. 

Paul Albani-Burgio covers breaking news and the City of Palm Springs. Follow him on Twitter at @albaniburgiop and via email at [email protected].