Chick-fil-A Continues Chicagoland Expansion with Newest Stand-Alone Restaurant Opening in Schaumburg Sept. 15; Fifth Location Arriving in Northwest Suburb on Anniversary of Market Entry
SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (Sept. 15, 2011) – Celebrating one year in metro Chicago, Chick-fil-A will open its fifth location. The chain will once again be ready for the crowds when it opens a dual-order drive-thru Chick-fil-A restaurant in Schaumburg Sept.15 as it continues its Chicagoland expansion.
As with all Chick-fil-A grand openings, the first 100 adults in line Sept. 15 when the doors open at 935 E. Golf Rd., Schaumburg will be awarded a free year’s supply of Chick-fil-A. The parking lot party draws from miles around Chick-fil-A’s loyal customers who come equipped with couches, TVs, and other gear as they count down to the newest restaurant opening. Extreme weather conditions don’t dampen the enthusiasm of the participants who often arrive more than 24 hours in advance.
A similar scene is expected in Schaumburg where Chick-fil-A will award a one-year supply of free Chick-fil-A® Meals (52 certificates) to each of the first 100 adults in line, age 18 and older with identification, at the restaurant. The line officially opens at 6 a.m., Wednesday, Sept. 14, with the free meal cards being awarded Thursday, Sept. 15, sometime between 5:45 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. The restaurant will open for business immediately thereafter. If there are more than 100 people by 6 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 14, all 100 spots will be determined by a raffle. See http://www.chick-fil-a.com/Locations/First-100 for complete rules.
Chick-fil-A began its Chicagoland expansion exactly a year ago with the Sept. 15, 2010, opening of its long-awaited first restaurant in Aurora where the chain’s grand opening weekend sales records were shattered and the huge crowds created the need for an immediate addition of a second drive-thru lane. Chick-fil-A brings its award-winning dual drive-thru service to Schaumburg. Two drive-thru lanes with separate menu boards will welcome motorists who will place their orders at the separate screens and then merge into a single lane to pay for and pick up their food. With a majority of customers at Chick-fil-A stand-alone restaurants choosing drive-thru, the ability for two drivers to simultaneously order should mean quicker service.
The opening of the first Chicagoland Chick-fil-A restaurant in 2010 came after years of impassioned pleas from
Chick-fil-A’s raving fans in the area who had to travel out of state to find the freshly prepared menu items and stellar customer service they craved. In addition to Aurora, Chick-fil-A has since opened restaurants in Wheaton, Orland Park and the downtown location on Loyola University’s Water Tower campus which opened in June and again broke grand opening sales records, even without drive-thru service. Chick-fil-A plans to open as many as 14 Chicago locations in the next three to five years including restaurants in Lombard, Ill., and Merrillville, Ind. in the coming months.
“We continue to be amazed, gratified and humbled by the overwhelming welcome we have received since beginning our Chicago expansion,” said Dan T. Cathy, Chick-fil-A president and COO. “With the opening of our fifth new restaurant in Chicagoland in a year, we’re moving quickly to continue to make our signature menu items and service more easily available throughout the area and look forward to many more Chick-fil-A openings in the coming months and years.”
The First 100 event rewards and celebrates that loyalty with a 24-hour campout in the restaurant parking lot that includes music, contests, games, and, of course, plenty of Chick-fil-A. Since the event began in 2003, Chick-fil-A has given away more than $13 million in free food at its grand openings, with nearly $2.3 million slated to be awarded in 2011.
This year marks 65 years since founder Truett Cathy opened his first restaurant, the Dwarf Grill, in Hapeville, Ga., in 1946. It was there that Cathy, who celebrated his 90th birthday this year, perfected his recipe for a boneless-breast-of-chicken sandwich which became the signature menu item when he opened his first Chick-fil-A restaurant in Atlanta in 1967. From the very beginning, Cathy’s focus on freshly prepared menu items and superior customer service have been hallmarks of the chain as it has grown to more than 1,575 restaurants in 39 states and Washington D.C.
Daryl Saylor, with more than 26 years of management experience, has been selected as the franchise Operator of the new Schaumburg Chick-fil-A restaurant. Relocating from St. Petersburg, Fla., Saylor and his wife, Mary Beth, are excited to return to the Midwest and their adult children, Daryl Jr. and Amanda, and be part of Chick-fil-A’s Chicagoland expansion.
“Chick-fil-A may have grown to be the second-largest chicken restaurant chain in the country, but our ideals today are no different than those Truett Cathy exemplified when he started Chick-fil-A 43 years ago,” said Saylor. “We want our customers to enjoy our freshly prepared food in the same friendly neighborhood environment he created.”
The opening of Schaumburg’s first Chick-fil-A restaurant comes 25 years after the chain first moved from the malls, where it helped pioneer the in-mall food concept, to the street with the 1986 opening of its first stand-alone restaurant in its hometown of Atlanta. With 90 restaurant openings planned in 2011, Chick-fil-A will reach 1,000 stand-alone locations in addition to the restaurants it operates in shopping malls and at licensed locations such as universities and airports.
Chick-fil-A’s drive-thru service debuted with the first stand-alone restaurant and quickly became an industry leader, topping studies for six years running. Chick-fil-A ranked number one overall in the most recent QSR magazine Drive-Thru Performance Study which measured order accuracy, speed of service, menu board appearance and speaker clarity.
The new Schaumburg Chick-fil-A features a 4,400-square-foot interior that seats 140 with additional outdoor seating and a convenient, award-winning multi-lane drive-thru while children will enjoy an indoor play area featuring an interactive section for toddlers. The new restaurant is open Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., serving a full breakfast menu until 10:30 a.m. The chain recently added a Multigrain Oatmeal that is slow-cooked in kettles to retain nutritional value. It comes with a choice of three toppings including cinnamon brown sugar, roasted mixed nuts or dried fruit blend.
Continuing to expand despite the country’s economic challenges, Chick-fil-A in 2010 opened 80 new restaurants, creating nearly 4,500 new jobs. The chain anticipates creating another 5,000 new jobs in 2011.
After reaching $3 billion in sales for the first time in 2009, Chick-fil-A continued the positive trend in 2010 reporting that sales topped $3.58 billion. Marking Chick-fil-A’s 43rd year of consecutive growth, last year’s sales represented an 11.37 percent overall and 5.92 percent same-store performance over the chain’s sales performance the previous year.
Chick-fil-A offers a completely trans fat-free menu and was among the first national quick-service restaurant chains to do so. At no extra charge, parents may substitute a small fruit cup for Waffle Potato Fries® included in Chick-fil-A Kid’s Meals®.
In the December 2010 issue of Men’s Health, the publication named Chick-fil-A as the best chicken chain. While touting Chick-fil-A’s healthier menu, the magazine stated, “Bottom line: You won't find a better meal at any fast food joint in the country.”
About Chick-fil-A, Inc. Truett Cathy developed the original Chick-fil-A boneless breast of chicken sandwich in his 24-hour Dwarf House® diner near Atlanta in the early 1960s, and he opened his first Chick-fil-A® restaurant in Atlanta’s Greenbriar Mall in 1967. Since then, the chain has grown to include more than 1,575 locations in 39 states and Washington, D.C. In 2010, Chick-fil-A, Inc. posted more than $3.58 billion in system-wide sales, marking its 43rd consecutive year of sales growth. The chain plans to add 90 locations this year, including 75 stand-alone, drive-through and in-line restaurants, and 15 licensed outlets in non-traditional locations such as college campuses. This year, the chain also will spend millions in reinvestment dollars on existing business markets to remodel and re-design more than 200 of its existing locations across the country. More information about Chick-fil-A is available on the chain’s websites, located at
www.chick-fil-a.com,
www.facebook.com/chick-fil-a,
www.chick-fil-a.com/pressroom or
www.truettcathy.com.
Contact:
Brenda Morrow Lydia Huerta
Chick-fil-A, Inc. CP Communications Inc.
brenda.morrow@chick-fil-a.com lydiahuerta@cpcommunicationsinc.com
404.765.8064 210.310.6708
