How to Open a Chick-fil-A
Chick-fil-A is one of the nation's most popular fast-food restaurants. Its beginnings can be traced back to 1946, when Truett Cathy opened his first eating establishment, the Dwarf Grill, in Hapeville, Georgia, and received credit for inventing the first boneless chicken sandwich. Today, Chick-fil-A is the second-largest fast-food chicken chain in the United States, with nearly 1,500 locations in more than 35 states. Here is how you can open a Chick-fil-A restaurant of your own and join in the chain's success.
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Things You'll Need
- Expression of Interest form
- Flexible schedule
- Management skills
- Initial investment
Instructions
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Be prepared to make a financial commitment. In order to open a Chick-fil-A and become a franchise operator, you will need to make a $5,000 initial investment.
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Submit an Expression of Interest form, which will be reviewed by Chick-fil-A, Inc. so its management can determine if you meet the criteria required for franchise operators. You can find the application at Chick-fil-A's website, which is listed below. It will take approximately three weeks for your Expression of Interest form to be reviewed.
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If you meet the requirements to become a franchise operator, Chick-fil-A will contact you and ask you to fill out another form. The Chick-fil-A Operator application, which has more specific questions, helps management choose the absolute best candidates, for which there are a limited number of openings.
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To take advantage of a Chick-fil-A franchise opportunity, operators must be able to make a full-time, hands-on commitment. That means you will need to spend at least 40 hours a week at your Chick-fil-A establishment, performing various duties so you can learn every aspect of how the company is run on a day-to-day basis.
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Chick-fil-A doesn't just throw their operators into their very own restaurant and tell them to "go for it"---you must complete an extensive training program that lasts for several weeks before you can become a franchise operator. In addition, the company requires operators to take further development courses that will help them make the necessary decisions to continue their franchise's success.
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Tips & Warnings
Representatives from Chick-fil-A often hold events in various parts of the country looking for potential franchise operators. You can find out if such an event is coming to a city near you by checking out the website listed below. Chick-fil-A's sales exceeded more than $2.6 billion in 2007. As one of the nation's fastest-growing fast-food chains, you can expect that you'll be dealing with many customers each day. Be prepared for increased demand, and take some training courses to help you effectively deal with problems that often arise for franchise operators.
