ALTUS — The first Chick-fil-A restaurant in Altus is under construction and should be open for business by the end of the year, Chamber of Commerce President Rodger Kerr said.
The popular eatery will be located two blocks east of the intersection of Main Street and Tamarack Road.
“This (Chick-Fil-A) elevates us. It’s an affirmation that good things are going on and that we’re doing progressive things in Altus,” Kerr said. “They (corporate business executives) see Altus is investing in itself and are doing things to improve the city and they want to be a part of that.”
Construction workers were pouring concrete May 22, which prompted Kerr to say, “They’ll be turning out chicken before the end of the year. They’re moving fast.”
More than 50 people will be hired at the Altus restaurant, City Manager Gary Jones said.
“This is a big deal. It’s not something they (Chick-fil-A) normally put into a small community,” he said.
Chick-fil-A’s addition to the business community will add to Altus’ sales tax collections by drawing customers from West Texas and towns outside the city, Jones said.
Discussions between city and company leaders took about six to nine months before plans were finalized and land was purchased.
Chick-fil-A serves communities across the nation with more than 2,600 restaurants inside airports, malls, college campuses and many other places. The company and its franchisees employ more than 140,000 people worldwide, according to Chick-fil-A’s website.
While new Chick-fil-A restaurants are opening, the company’s first-ever restaurant has closed in Atlanta’s Greenbriar Mall. Chick-fil-A touts the groundbreaking location as one of the first restaurants to open inside a mall. Greenbriar was one of the first indoor malls in the Southeast.
The privately-held company was founded in 1946 by S. Truett Cathy and his brother with the opening of an Atlanta diner called The Dwarf Grill. Its success led to the formation of the Chick-fil-A chain.