Friday, December 12, 2001

Upscale Chick-fil-A unveils its new look in Fayetteville

Chick-fil-A Inc. is incorporating its philosophy of "continuous improvement" into a new interior free-standing design being tested with its restaurant opening tomorrow in Fayetteville.

Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy will be on hand for the 9 a.m. first bite and ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the restaurant at 875 South Glynn St.

Selected to run the free-standing test design prototype is Doug Barnett, a veteran Chick-fil-A operator who transferred from the Chick-fil-A restaurant on Sam Nunn Boulevard in Perry, Ga.

"Based on feedback from internal and external focus groups, we wanted to create a warmer, more upscale interior while providing a higher production kitchen and service area that would enable our team members and operators to function more efficiently and effectively," said Cathy.

"We selected Fayetteville for this test restaurant because of its proximity to our corporate headquarters which will enable us to more easily evaluate the new concept over the next six months."

It took nearly 18 months to finalize the new interior look, which incorporates state-of-the-art equipment and design in all areas of the restaurant from the dining room to the new interactive playground, service counter and kitchen.

Warm jewel tones, wood accents and new fabrics and finishes help create a friendlier and cozier dining experience in response to feedback from customers.

From the 45-degree angles of the tiles on the floor and the two-tiered ceiling to the linear curve of the service counter, each design element works together to provide energy, help with traffic flow, and define various areas of the restaurant, said a spokesman.

A two-story playground area reflects a nature theme that includes a play tree for toddlers, separate from the older children's area, a globe where both kids and parents can sit and explore the world together, and a slide whose riders will trigger a number of sound effects including more than 60 phrases that help build character such as "play nice," "take turns," "tell the truth."

The interactive playground contains the most advanced equipment in the quick-service industry, said the spokesman, and a design exclusive to Chick-fil-A.

The service counter contains a number of new features that provide additional benefits to customers such as the new Radiant monitor ordering system where a screen facing customers enables them to view their order as it's being placed, further insuring accuracy.

A new soft drink dispenser provides an expanded line of drink options and a technology that provides a better tasting product. In addition, Chick-fil-A is the first in the country to use a new European water filtration system that includes sending water through five different filters to provide a more superior product for use in food preparation, drinks and ice.

"A totally new kitchen design increases prep area by more than 25 percent and freezer space by more than 15 percent using the same space allotment as the current free-standing design," said Barnett. "This translates into providing a higher output, especially during peak volume hours, which takes our commitment to providing efficient and superior customer service to a new level."

Many elements were designed to make things easier for employees such as raising equipment and counters higher off the floor for a faster and more efficient way to clean the restaurant. Based on a suggestion made by Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy, the drive-through lane was raised six inches so that employees and customers would be on an eye-to-eye level at the service window to make it easier for employees to serve customers.

"Even though Chick-fil-A consistently receives high marks in all areas of our business, we continually challenge ourselves to look for new ways to improve so that we can create a wonderful experience for our customers from the minute they arrive at our restaurant," said Cathy. "We're excited about the potential of this new design and will be monitoring it closely."

The restaurant will be open Monday through Saturday from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., with a full breakfast menu available until 10:30 a.m. featuring Chick-fil-A's successful chicken biscuit.

The lunch and dinner menu features a variety of items including the chain's award-winning original boneless breast of chicken sandwich and its newly introduced Chick-fil-A Cool Wraps that come in three varieties; spicy chicken, chicken Caesar, and chargrilled chicken.

According to Nation's Restaurant News June 2001 edition, Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A is the second-largest quick-service chicken restaurant chain, based on annual sales of more than $1.086 billion, with more than 1,011 restaurants in 34 states.

Additional information about Chick-fil-A is available on the chain's Web site, www.chick-fil-a.com.

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