The opening Thursday morning of the Chick-fil-A restaurant at 2127 S. Range Line Road has been a long time coming. Just ask Rick Starkweather.
“Everything is on track. I am ready to get this thing rolling. Believe me, it’s been long a process,” said Starkweather, who will manage the restaurant. “We started looking for a site four years ago. We have been working on this site for more than two years.”
When the doors open, the first customers will see that no expense has been spared. Chick-fil-A has made sure that what’s inside and outside is top of the line.
The restaurant will have 50 to 55 full- and part-time employees. About 20 experienced people from the Chick-fil-A in the food court at Northpark Mall, which will remain open, will migrate to the new restaurant. In addition to that, 17 experienced hands are being brought in from other Chick-fil-A restaurants across the country for the grand opening.
Why is this being done? Chick-fil-A, which has its roots in the South, knows a thing or two about hospitality. That first impression means everything.
“We understand the importance of a first impression. You had better believe it,” Starkweather said. “Word gets around fast, especially in this town where there is so much competition. We want people to have the correct experience from day one.”
The Joplin restaurant will have 4,227 square feet of interior space to seat 134 people. It will feature warm colors and warm accents. It will have a drive-through service that promises to be speedy as well as accurate. It will have an indoor play area for children that includes an interactive section for toddlers.
The restaurant will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, serving a full breakfast menu until 10:30 a.m.
The restaurant should have opened about three weeks ago, but more site work was required than was anticipated. The foul (or should that be fowl?) weather did not slow the project. In recent weeks, the exterior of the building has been wrapped in plastic so that workers could stay warm and stay on task.
Starkweather, a Joplin native, just earned the company’s highest honor. He was awarded the Symbol of Success last week at the company’s annual seminar in Orlando, Fla. He has more than 20 years of Chick-fil-A experience at the mall. People who work at the mall and eat at the mall will tell you that the restaurant has been consistent about one thing: consistent delivery of a good product.
Truett Cathy developed the original Chick-fil-A boneless breast of chicken sandwich in the 1960s in his 24-hour Dwarf House diner near Atlanta, Ga. Cathy opened his first restaurant in Atlanta’s Greenbriar Mall in 1967. The chain has grown to more 1,366 locations in 37 states and Washington, D.C.
Sales reached $2.64 billion in 2007. It was the 40th consecutive year of sales growth for the chain.
Easter is near
The Easter Bunny will be making his grand arrival Saturday at Northpark Mall.
Children and their parents are invited to bring their decorated tricycles, bicycles and wagons into the mall to meet the Easter Bunny for a grand parade.
Participants should gather at 10 a.m. in front of the Men’s Macy’s store. The first 200 children, up to age 12, will receive a free goody bag from the Easter Bunny.
The parade, led by the guest of honor, will hop down the cotton trail to the Easter Bunny’s Spring Garden in the J.C. Penney court. Prizes will be given to the three “Bunny-mobiles” that are the best decorated.
The Easter Bunny will be available for photographs after the parade and will remain in the garden through Easter on March 23.
If you have news about something that’s happening on Range Line Road, dial 623-3480, ext. 7250; or send an e-mail to wkennedy@joplinglobe.com; or send a fax to Wally Kennedy at 623-8598.
