Chick-fil-A breaks ground on new Cedartown location
Work moving along for planned spring opening.
A large group of community leaders helped officially welcome the Chick-fil-A brand to Cedartown last October as the chain held a groundbreaking for its future location on Rome Highway.
Several representatives of local governments and the Development Authority of Polk County joined Chick-fil-A representatives for the special ceremony in front of Tractor Supply Company on U.S. 27 north of the Cedartown Bypass.
Progress on the Cedartown Chick-fil-A has been steady since work began in the final quarter of 2022, with workers recently finishing brickwork on the exterior of the restaurant.
It was announced in last August that a Chick-fil-A restaurant would be built at the location with Rockmart native and Chick-filA team leader Kristen Brannon returning to Polk County to become its owner and operator.
Brannon has been the operator of the Chick-fil-A in the Valdosta Mall since May 2020. She and her husband, Tyler Brannon, have a son, Gaines Brannon.
“We want to be faithful stewards and have a positive impact on everyone that we come in contact with — team members, leaders, the guests, the commuters going into work,” Brannon said at the ceremony.
“This is a coming home for me. This is a dream and a prayer that we have prayed that we did not know would come to fruition in this fashion. So we’re very excited to be moving back at the beginning of next year.”
Crews with W.H. Bass contractors were hard at work preparing the site, with drainage and digging work having started before the event. Still, the occasion was one of celebration and anticipation as plans are for a spring 2023 opening.
“Today has been a long time coming. This site will soon transform from an empty dirt lot into a business teeming with activity. We can’t wait to follow all of its progress,” Cedartown City Commissioner Andrew Carter said.
The location of the restaurant is in one of the most well-traveled areas of Cedartown, with traffic to and from Rome and points north traveling along the Cedartown Bypass that begins south of downtown and connects those traveling up from Haralson and Carroll counties.
Also in attendance at the groundbreaking were some of the team leaders at the Chickfil-A where Brannon is currently the operator in Valdosta who will move to the area after the first of the year to work at the Cedartown location.
Carter said the economic impact
will be felt outside of the jobs created by the restaurant opening, adding that the leaders who go through the chain’s training and the expansion of the Truett Cathy workplace culture will be beneficial to the local area.
“All of these things create the perfect recipe for success,” Carter said. “We are pleased to welcome you to this town and are excited to have you a part of this community. It is our pleasure to have you all here.”
Cedartown’s Chick-fil-A will be the second location in Polk County for the fast food restaurant known for its chicken sandwich and being closed on Sundays to allow employees to rest and worship if they choose.
Rockmart’s Chick-fil-A opened in 2017 with owner and operator Zach Thomas. He has since gone on to spearhead leadership
development programs for Polk County schools and become a
part of the county business community.