In what has become one of Statesboro’s most anticipated openings, the “brand new” Chick-fil-A, located at 352 Northside Drive East, will open to the public on Thursday, July 18th at 6 am. The original Chick-fil-A closed on March 22nd and local contractor, Ellis Wood Contracting, immediately began demolishing the building which was built in 1996. They completely scraped the site down to the dirt. W.H. Bass, the general contractor completed the project in record time. When Chick-fil-A reopens on the 18th, it will be a little over 16 weeks from the day it closed.
The new restaurant is around 1,000 square feet larger and is set back towards LongHorn Steakhouse. The front door is now located close to where the original drive-through window was. The interior design of the restaurant is completely revamped to include the newest décor package available from Chick-fil-A. When you enter the restaurant, you immediately go into the order line, which is now separated from the open concept dining room. The new design includes high top tables, traditional tables and a wonderful new addition of community tables to accommodate larger groups.
One of the exciting new features is the playground, which is now located inside for children to play in a climate-controlled environment year-round. They have also included a small outdoor seating area near the new front entrance.
The primary advantage of setting the building back is to have the ability to enhance the guest’s drive-through experience. Guests will be able to enter the parking lot, get in the drive-through que, order, pay, pick up the food and exit the parking lot without having to face oncoming traffic. The drive-through includes a canopy that covers the cars as they enter the drive-through. To enhance the guests drive-through experience they are encouraging guest to order through the Chick-fil-A mobile app, which now offers a drive-through pick up-option.
One of the biggest expansions is in the kitchen, where the space has been increased by about 55 percent. In addition to all new state of the art equipment, the design of the kitchen and the drive-through area will be much more efficient for team members. One example is now the ice machine is located in the front of the restaurant beside the drink machines in the drive-through. There is also now a door in the drive-through area, which allows for team members to access quests quicker if they need too.
“It is always my pleasure to offer our guests a great product in a family-friendly environment. I hope our guests are excited about visiting our new state-of-the-art restaurant”, said Statesboro owner/operator David Boykin. “I believe that this new restaurant will create remarkable experiences for all who come in contact with my team and we appreciate the opportunity to serve our community. Our team is excited about the new restaurant and look forward to serving our guests again in just a few days.”
This week they will be getting the restaurant set up. They will also begin testing equipment and finish hiring and getting new team members ready to start the training process. A large number of the former Chick-fil-A employees are returning, but they are also hiring additional employees for the larger location. If you are interested in applying for a job at Chick-fil-A go to www.snagajob.com and search for Chick-fil-A of Statesboro. Next Monday, July 15th, they will begin training and will open to the public on Thursday, July 18th at 6 am.