Polaris restaurant to be bulldozed for new Chick-fil-A; eatery's gear auctioned

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Mackenzie River, a shuttered central Ohio restaurant that replaced Max and Erma's, auctioned off its furniture this week ahead of the building's demolition to make room for a new Chick-fil-A.

The grill and pub at 1515 Polaris Parkway closed several weeks ago after eight years in business and held the auction on Tuesday, according to the eatery's listing. The restaurant launched in 2016 after Montana-based Glacier Restaurant Group purchased all Max and Erma's locations and transformed several into Mackenzie River eateries.

The Polaris Fashion Place location's closing dwindles the Mackenzie Rive concept to four Ohio restaurants, with one in Pickerington at 1281 Hill Road N. and three near Cincinnati.

Now, the building will be bulldozed to clear the site for construction of a new 4,800 square-foot Chick-fil-A restaurant, a permit under review by the city of Columbus states. Once finished, the project will include a dual-line drive-thru covered by two canopies.

The fast food chain did not respond to NBC4's request for comment on whether the existing Chick-fil-A restaurant at 8787 Sancus Blvd., less than a mile away from the new site, is closing. The Sancus Boulevard location opened in 2003 and marked the company's first standalone eatery in central Ohio.

Mackenzie River will be the third Columbus-area restaurant to be demolished for a new Chick-fil-A, like Tee Jaye’s Country Place at 4910 N. High St. which closed in 2021. Construction is underway at that site, including preserving the site's 20th-century sign that has received a facelift with Chick-fil-A branding.

Buca di Beppo at 60 E. Wilson Bridge Road in Worthington is also expected to be demolished, but Chick-fil-A has yet to formally acquire the property. The Italian restaurant is currently open given construction is unlikely to begin before 2026.

Glacier's Polaris eatery is also not the first central Ohio restaurant to recently close and then auction off its equipment. Oscar's Restaurant and Bar shuttered on Jan. 27 after more than 30 years in business and held an auction the following Monday to sell "everything by piece til done," the listing stated.

Several other restaurants have closed recently near Polaris, including Matt the Miller's Tavern in February and Winking Lizard Tavern in December.

Meanwhile, a former O'Charley’s near Polaris will undergo a $1.5 million renovation to become the first Ohio restaurant for Fogo de Chão, a Brazilian steakhouse with locations across the globe. Smash Park, an "eatertainment" venue known for a mix of food and recreation, is also opening its first Ohio destination nearby in the Westar Place business district.