Last call this week for Chick-fil-A fans in Gilmer County as the local restaurant closes for a lengthy renovation.
“It will be a brand-new restaurant in a lot of ways,” said Gilmer County Chick-fil-A Restaurant Operator Betsy Salzmann.
The store is 99 percent certain to close Thursday, Jan. 9, to begin the process.
“It is when we run out of product,” she said.
On paper, the renovation is scheduled to take 16 weeks, but Salzmann said it could be shorter or longer depending on weather and other factors.
“In reality, it can be anywhere from 14 to 18 weeks,” she said.
Major remodels are scheduled for Chick-fil-A stores by the company which reinvests in the privately owned stores at the 15 and 30-year anniversaries.
“Chick-fil-A is very generous, and they reinvest in stores around the 15-year mark,” Salzmann said.
Inside the store, everything will be demolished down to the dirt and rebuilt. The exterior of the store will remain with some changes.
“It will be completely different inside,” Salzmann said.
In the kitchen, a reconfiguration will allow for more equipment and an assembly line process.
“Which will make the guest experience so much smoother,” she said.
A playground will still be a feature inside the building, and the dining area will be completely refreshed with a new color palette and new chairs.
Outside, the parking lot will be torn up. Seven feet or so will be taken from the grassy border with CVS to enlarge the parking lot and allow for a double-lane drive-thru. Currently, orange cones line the parking lot and direct customers to loop around the restaurant to begin their ordering process.
The double lane will feed down to one lane where customers will receive their order through a door instead of a window.
“We are a little limited by the space on the lot, but we are going to do the best we can,” Salzmann said.
Originally, Chick-fil-A wanted to begin the project the week before the Apple Festival. A January closure worked better for the customers, judging from past years, she said.
Salzmann said the store is using various strategies to keep the current team employed and ready to come back when the store reopens.
“Our goal is to have everyone come back and join us,” she said. “We saved up money to try and pay everyone and keep them as close as we can.”
Some employees will work the grand openings of other stores. There will be training programs for staff to attend. Management will also help employees with partial unemployment claims.
“Our hope is to keep the team as engaged as possible,” Salzmann said.
Progress of the renovation will be posted on social media for customers.
“We will post updates on our Facebook and Instagram so everyone knows what is going on,” she said.
Salzmann said there will be some special things for the grand reopening of the store. She is excited about the remodel, but is going to miss the interactions with customers.
“We will really miss the community,” she said.
“We are going to really miss serving our guests who come in every single day.”