Charlotte’s Kitchen plans to open a drive-through restaurant in Altoona, a project that city officials say is another addition to the growing neighborhood that is quickly becoming the new city center of the eastern metro community.

The Altoona Planning and Zoning Commission approved the site plan for the chicken eatery on March 26, followed by the City Council’s approval last week.

When it’s built it would be the third metro location for the business that started as a food truck in 2020. According to the Charlotte’s Kitchen website, it also has locations in Johnston and Indianola, both of which offer sit-down options.

City Planner Natalie Jacobson said the drive-through-only restaurant [with some outdoor seating] would be located at 109 Eighth St. S.E. It would be the first that Charlotte’s Kitchen will be building new. The other locations have been remodeling existing buildings.

Jacobson said it’s located just off First Avenue, which is one of the main streets through Altoona, and in an area that is undergoing some commercial redevelopment.

“Right now, most of our restaurant options are on the west side of town closer to Adventureland and that entertainment area over there, so it’s nice to see some restaurant and food options come in on the east side of town,” she said.

Charlotte’s Kitchen’s owner and founder, Michael Hanstad, said the concept in Altoona will be a throwback to the company’s food truck days and close to residential areas so it can continue to be close to the customers it serves.

Hanstad said that besides being close to residential areas, the lack of other food options in the neighborhood was also a big consideration in choosing the Altoona spot.

“The biggest thing pulling us there was the lack of food options, but the amount of people that live out there, and that’s honestly where we did most of our food trucks was in those communities behind the school, out by the baseball fields that are close to that spot,” he said.

Hanstad said the size of the lot prevented it from being any larger than a drive-through operation, which will be around 960 square feet when complete.

He’s excited to construct a new building so it can be designed and equipped to operate as efficiently as possible. The Johnston location is in a former Dairy Queen, and the Indianola location is in a former convenience store. Both sites presented challenges with kitchen layouts and design, he said.

Hanstad said he’s also excited for the Altoona site to open because it’s important for the business to get involved in the community.

“For us, it’s important to get involved with a community and go somewhere where the community is needing something,” he said. “When we met with the planning and zoning commission and City Council, they both said the same thing that [the city] really needed a food option down there. Plus it’s a good spot for us to just get really involved with the community.”

Hanstad said he expects the restaurant to begin serving customers in the next five to six months.

It’s not the end of plans to expand further, he said.

Hanstad said Charlotte’s Kitchen is eyeing sites in Waukee and Ankeny for future growth.

“Probably Waukee first if we can find a good, reasonable spot,” he said.

According to Jacobson, people should expect to see some other projects in the area over the “next couple of years,” but that it’s too early to discuss what those projects might be.

“This area of town has slowly developed into more of our city center with how the city has grown,” Jacobson said. “We’ve got some fun projects that will be going on that are all going to tie together to show off the history but also create that city center, downtown feel.”