File Photo
Bill Tyler's Chick-fil-A will have a closing party Friday from 6-8 p.m.
Jim Fair
Chick-fil-A at 1379 West Wade Hampton Blvd., is closing June 6 and is scheduled to reopen June 30.
Chick-fil-A at 1379 West Wade Hampton Blvd., is closing June 6 and is scheduled to reopen June 30.
The store will host a “closing party” from 6-8 p.m. Friday night before it closes at 10 p.m. until later this month. Contractors from Stone Mountain, Ga., will gut the entire inside throughout the weekend.
But before it closes, Tyler’s staff has come up with a series of competitions for customers:
• Who can eat the most chicken nuggets in 15 minutes.
• The most milkshakes consumed in a specific time.
• The most Chick-fil-A sandwiches eaten in a specified time.
Tyler laughed at some of the competitions. “Our staff just sat around and thought these up.”
One prize will give a customer the opportunity to deliver the first blow in tearing down the interior with a sledgehammer.
Tyler said some employees traditionally go on vacation in June while others who want to work will be accommodated by other Chick-fil-A restaurants. “We will also go off site and do some training.”
The store will get a more contemporary look. “It will be a much softer and natural feel with an updated look,” Tyler said.
Technically it will be a “Brand Image Reinvestment”, Tyler said. What it means to customers and employees is that the entire building will be gutted ceiling to floor. The kitchen, tile, extended drive-thru, wall covering and awnings will be removed and redesigned.
“We’re in the eight-year cycle for reinvesting in our store,” Tyler said. The store opened in 1998 and was given a fresh look in 2006. “We touch the store every eight years,” he said.
When the store reopens the customers will see:
• A new exterior order point (no dual lanes)
• Redesigned centerline kitchen layout
• Dining room will feature new materials, steel finishes, LED lighting and contemporary tiles.
• New exterior awnings.
“I never knew how hard it was to close a restaurant,” Tyler said.