Opening Brings Nearly 85 New Jobs, Chance for First 100 Adults to Win Free Chick-fil-A for a Year
Celebration Includes New Children’s Book Drive for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Edinburg RGV
Texas Border Business –
EDINBURG, Texas (March 26, 2015) – Edinburg’s first stand-alone Chick-fil-A® restaurant will open March 26 — bringing nearly 85 new jobs, the chance for 100 adults to win free Chick-fil-A meals for a year and an opportunity for the community to donate new children’s books for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Edinburg RGV .
After 11 years and $24 million in free food having been given away through yearend 2014, Chick-fil-A’s “First 100” celebration continues to be its signature grand opening event — turning the parking lot into a 24-hour community party.
The new Edinburg restaurant located at 1360 W. University Drive, will host the next 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 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 26. If more than 100 people are onsite when the line officially opens at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, March 25, 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. For complete rules, see Chick-fil-A First 100 Promotion.
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 Edinburg Operator Rudy Martinez is collecting unused children’s books at the new restaurant on Wednesday, March 25 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The books will be donated to the local Boys & Girls Clubs of Edinburg RGV.
The nearly three-foot-high Book House will 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 support of the Chick-fil-A Foundation (www.chick-fil-afoundation.org).
The nearly 4,800-square-foot Edinburg restaurant seats 132 inside with additional outdoor seats; and includes a dual drive-thru order point design to expand the chain’s award-winning drive-thru service. It enables motorists to place their orders at separate screens and then merge into a single lane to pay for and pick up their orders. With a majority of customers at
Chick-fil-A restaurants choosing drive thru, the ability for two drivers to simultaneously order will mean quicker service.
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 6:30 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.
Martinez, who started working with Chick-fil-A as a team member 31 years ago at McAllen’s Plaza Mall, is originally from Mexico and moved to the U.S. in 1984. Within 12 years, he earned the opportunity to have his own Chick-fil-A business when he became Operator of the South Park Mall in San Antonio and eventually transferred to Ingram Park Mall Chick-fil-A.
Wanting to return to McAllen, Martinez was given that opportunity with the opening of the 10th Street Chick-fil-A restaurant. Joining a small handful of Chick-fil-A Operators who have two stand-alone locations, Martinez is supported in the business by his wife, Petra, and their three children who all work at the restaurants. He is a great example of why Chick-fil-A was named to LATINO Magazine’s 2014 inaugural Top 100 list of companies that provide the most opportunities for Latin Americans.
“Personalized customer service and freshly hand-crafted food have been the hallmarks of Chick-fil-A since the day
Truett Cathy opened his first restaurant,” said Martinez. “My team members and I are committed to those same ideas as we welcome guests to our Edinburg restaurant and provide them with that same remarkable experience.”
The Edinburg Chick-fil-A, located across from the University of Texas – Pan American campus that includes a licensee
Chick-fil-A, becomes the second location to open in the metro area in less than eight months following last year’s Weslaco July opening. The Edinburg opening brings the total to six stand-alones and one licensee location within 35 miles of the store. It marks Texas’ 307th Chick-fil-A restaurant, the most in any one state, and is part of 88 new locations the chain plans to open in 2015 — creating more than 7,000 new jobs.
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 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 1,903 restaurants in 41 states and Washington D.C.
Visit the Facebook page www.facebook.com/chickfilaofedinburg or www.chick-fil-a.com/edinburg for more information on the Edinburg Chick-fil-A restaurant.
About Chick-fil-A, Inc.
Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A, Inc. is a family owned and privately held restaurant company dedicated to serving the communities in which its restaurants operate. Known for its original chicken sandwich, Chick-fil-A serves freshly prepared food in nearly 1,903 restaurants in 41 states and Washington, D.C.
Founded in 1967 by S. Truett Cathy, Chick-fil-A produced sales of $5 billion in 2013. Chick-fil-A was recognized in 2014 as one of America’s “Top 20 Most Admired Brands” by The Harris Poll, “Top Fast Food Chicken Chain” by Consumer Reports and the only restaurant named to 24/7 Wall Street’s “Customer Service Hall of Fame.” More information on Chick-fil-A is available on the chain’s website located at www.chick-fil-a.com.
