Miami Herald

Chick-fil-A to open 7 new restaurant­s in South Florida

- BY MADELEINE MARR mmarr@miamiheral­d.com Madeleine Marr: madeleinem­arr

South Florida is about to see a lot more cows with signs reading, “Eat Mor Chikin.”

Call it a Chick-fil-A invasion.

SEVEN, count them, SEVEN new restaurant­s are set to open soon.

There will be a four in Dade (Hialeah, Kendall, North Miami Beach, River Landing), two in Palm Beach (West Boca, West

Boynton Beach) and one in Broward (Davie).

The Hialeah and West Boca locations could start serving up the chain’s famed waffle fries, shakes and nuggets as early as December, the company said. The others will open in the first half of 2021.

“In total, these restaurant­s will create more than 700 full- and part-time job opportunit­ies in South Florida,” the company said. “Chick-fil-A expects to continue this strong growth in the South Florida market for the years to come with a focus on the greater Miami area.”

The first Chick-fil-A opened in 1967, in the food court of the Greenbriar Mall, in an Atlanta suburb. It was founded by Truet Cathy, whose 2002 book “Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People,” explained the strange spelling of the name.

“I would have to misspell a word, turn it sideways or upside down, or do something else to distinguis­h it,” Cathy wrote. “I began to reflect on the product, which was the best part of the chicken — a boneless breast. It occurred to me that the best cut of beef is a fillet; why not call ours a chicken fillet? Or chick fillet? Or Chick-fil-A?”

While the menu has evolved since the 1960s, the signature grilled-chicken sandwich reigns supreme.

As for the famed cow spokesanim­al: The bovines were spotlighte­d in order to steer (no pun) Americans away from eating so much beef by using “Eat Mor Chikin” signs. They are intentiona­lly misspelled as if the cows were actually writing the plea. LOL.

The formula is working, even in the coronaviru­s era: According to the American Customer Satisfacti­on Index (ACSI) Restaurant report for 2019-2020, Chick-fil-A is the so-called King of Fast Food. The study revealed which restaurant­s outperform­ed in customer satisfacti­on at the start of the pandemic and it came in at numero uno.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States