New Location Creates 70 New Jobs, Awards Year Supply of Chick-fil-A Meals to First 100.
Celebration Includes New Children’s Book Drive for the Advocates for Children Organization
EMERSON, Ga. Emerson’s first Chick-fil-A® restaurant is opening Jan 22, bringing nearly 70 new jobs, the chance for 100 adults to win free Chick-fil-A meals for a year and the opportunity for community members to donate children’s books that will benefit the Advocates for Children organization.
After 11 years and nearly $24 million in free food given away through 2014, Chick-fil-A’s “First 100” celebration continues to be the chain’s signature grand opening event which transforms the restaurant parking lot into a 24-hour community friendly party as the crowd awaits the opening.
The new Chick-fil-A restaurant at 94 Old Allatoona Road hosts the First 100 event that will award more than $32,000 in free food. A digital offer card loaded with a one-year supply of free Chick-fil-A Meals will be given to each of the first 100 eligible adults, ages 18 and older with identification, in line when the doors open about 6 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 22. If more than 100 people are onsite when the line officially opens at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 21, then all 100 spots will be determined by a drawing held that morning with those selected needing to camp out for 24 hours to secure their spot.
Chick-fil-A believes in partnering with individuals and organizations that work to enrich education, literacy and youth. In that spirit, Chick-fil-A at LakePoint Operator, Glenn Jordan, is collecting unused children’s books on Wednesday, Jan. 21, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. that will benefit the Advocates for Children, a non-profit organization that focuses on serving children and families in the Bartow County and surrounding North Georgia counties. The new books collected during the grand opening celebration will be placed in a nearly three-foot-high Book House to serve as a free library exchange – allowing anyone to take a book after replacing it with one of their own. The Book House, created from old and thrown out wood, is one of several community programs and opportunities being made possible through the generous support of the Chick-fil-A Foundation (www.chick-fil-afoundation.org).
The opening of LakePoint Chick-fil-A restaurant will create nearly 70 new jobs. The new restaurant features an upgraded interior including subway tile and metals in a variety of finishes and patinas all complimented by an abundance of windows allowing in plenty of natural light. The vintage-inspired interior includes a community table made of reclaimed timber and other unique custom features such as light fixtures made from recycled Coca-Cola bottles and peach baskets.
Two drive-thru ordering lanes that merge into a single lane for pickup will enhance the chain’s award-winning drive-thru service. With 130 seats inside and 16 additional seats outside, customers will be able to stay connected through the restaurant’s free Wi-Fi and parents will appreciate the indoor play area that includes an interactive section for toddlers. The restaurant is open Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., serving a full breakfast menu until 10:30 a.m.
Like all Chick-fil-A restaurants, it will be closed on Sunday. The new Emerson Chick-fil-A location is the first of eight Georgia restaurants tentatively scheduled to open this year. Chick-fil-A plans to continue expanding in the Atlanta area and its surrounding communities. The new Emerson location will become the 211th Chick-fil-A restaurant in Georgia.
Jordan brings a wealth of knowledge about Chick-fil-A and the brand to the Emerson area. He worked 17 years as a Chick-fil-A team member and has been an Operator for 24 years. Jordan attended Auburn University where he majored in personnel matters and industrial relations. He currently owns the Cartersville Chick-fil-A restaurant and is honored to be given the rare title of multi-unit Operator – joining small percentage of Operators to be given the opportunity. A member of the Advocates for Children and Foundation Board for Cartersville City Schools, Jordan along with his wife Suzy and three children are looking forward to serving the residents of Emerson.
“Personalized customer service and freshly prepared food have been the hallmarks of Chick-fil-A since the day Truett Cathy opened his first restaurant,” said Jordan. “My team members and I are committed to those same ideas as we welcome our guests to our new Emerson restaurant and provide them with a remarkable experience.”
Perfecting a recipe his mother used in her Atlanta boarding house, Cathy first served his boneless breast-of-chicken sandwich, pressured cooked and served on a buttered bun with two crucial pickles, at his Dwarf Grill restaurant which opened in 1946 in Hapeville, Ga. It was the signature menu item when the first Chick-fil-A restaurant opened in 1967 inside an Atlanta mall. Though joined by many other menu options over the years, the Chick-fil-A sandwich remains the centerpiece of the menu as the chain has grown to more than 1,894 restaurants in 41 states and Washington, D.C.
The new Chick-fil-A on Old Allatoona Road is one of 88 new restaurants the chain plans to open across the country in 2015, creating more than 7,400 new jobs. Chick-fil-A continued to grow in 2014, increasing the number of new restaurants initially planned for the year with a total of 93 opening across the country.
For more information on the new LakePoint Chick-fil-A restaurant, visit www.chick-fil-a.com/lakepoint or find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LakePointCFA.