Chick-fil-A Building Irvine Eatery, Several Planned in OC
By JENNIFER BELLANTONIO
Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A Inc. plans to open up to 10 Orange County fast-food restaurants in the next three years as part of a Southern California push.
In all, Chick-fil-A, which serves chicken sandwiches and other items, plans to open 73 Southern California eateries by 2007.
The first OC location is going up at The Market Place in Tustin and Irvine and is set to open in January, said John E. Featherston, Chick-fil-A’s senior director of real estate. The 4,500-square-foot restaurant is set to be Chick-fil-A’s first stand-alone restaurant in California, Featherston said.
“It’s our thought and hope that (the Irvine restaurant) would be a flagship store for us not only in Orange County but in Southern California,” Featherston said
Chick-fil-A has restaurants in a handful of California shopping malls,the closest being the Los Cerritos Center in Cerritos,and at the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Those restaurants have been open for about 20 years, depending on location.
Privately held Chick-fil-A runs more than 1,000 restaurants in 36 states. The 57-year-old company reported $1.4 billion in 2002 sales. Chick-fil-A operates fast-food and sit-down restaurants under the Chick-fil-A, Chick-fil-A Dwarf House and Truett’s Grill brands.
Chick-fil-A has been scouting deals in other parts of OC, Featherston said. “It’s hard for us to pick an area in Orange County that we don’t like,” he said. “We’re actively pursuing locations throughout Orange County.”
The company also is looking to open restaurants across Southern California through 2007, according to Featherston. Plans include 15 to 20 eateries in Los Angeles, 12 to 18 in the Central Valley, 12 to 15 in the Inland Empire and eight to 10 in San Diego.
The company is focusing on regional retail centers anchored by a Wal-Mart or Target store, Featherston said. Chick-fil-A’s targeting middle-income areas with a lot of family homes and businesses, he said.
Chick-fil-A is looking to build its own restaurants.
The company started as a mall-based fast-food chain and began opening stand-alone restaurants in the early 1990s to drive growth, Featherston said.
The company also plans to add stand-alone restaurants to areas where now it only has mall stores, Featherston said. Those include Los Angeles, Phoenix and Salt Lake City.
“The way America shops has changed,” he said. “The way America has eaten has changed. We’ve tried to change with that.”
Chick-fil-A recently hired Michael H. Bailey to oversee the company’s California real estate deals. Bailey initially will work from his home in Huntington Beach.
The company also is looking to open an office here for Bailey and fellow OC resident Heyward Hoover, who oversees Chick-fil-A’s field operations staff in California and Arizona, Featherston said.
Chick-fil-A has ambitious plans.
The company is in its third year of a 10-year plan to hit $3 billion in sales by 2010, Featherston said.
“For us to reach our seven- to 10-year growth objectives, we simply wanted and needed to be part of a dense vibrant development pattern in Southern California,” he said. “We’ve had stores there for years that have thrived despite a small amount of brand awareness.”
Chick-fil-A wants that to change.
The company, which does not franchise new restaurants, has spent the past year scouting and recruiting people in OC and Southern California to run future locations.
“They don’t own the business or the building, but they have a long-term agreement to operate it and split the profits,” Featherston said. “We have experienced business people whose sole income is based on the success of that store. It historically has created a great deal of loyalty between Chick-fil-A and store operators.”
Tough Competition
But Chick-fil-A, which closes its restaurants on Sundays, may have some hurdles.
OC is speckled with fast-food and casual dining places, including El Pollo Loco Inc. and Taco Bell Corp., both of Irvine, and Lake Forest-based Del Taco Inc. Big national rivals such as KFC and Wendy’s International Inc. also are prominent here.
Chick-fil-A’s challenge: making its name known to OC consumers.
The company plans to sponsor concerts and other community events. In the next year or two, it plans to roll out its “Eat Mor Chikin” marketing campaign, which includes giant three-dimensional billboards with black-and-white cows, Featherston said. Dallas-based The Richards Group created the campaign.
Chick-fil-A has a local role model: Irvine-based In-N-Out Burger.
“We aspire to be as well-regarded in Southern California as (In-N-Out Burger) is,” Featherston said. “We’re huge fans of them.”
Chick-fil-A, which is owned and run by founder and chairman S. Truett Cathy and his sons, Don and Dan, hopes to create a loyal fan base here as it’s done in its own backyard.
“It’s a very well-established and highly-regarded chain in the Southeast,” said Bob Sandelman, owner of Villa Park-based Sandelman & Associates, an independent restaurant research firm. “We track a lot chains around the country. They’re one of the higher ranking ones.”
