WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. – Chick-fil-A fans in West Memphis won’t have to travel across the river for a sandwich after Thursday.
The popular fast food chain is opening a new location on the service road west of Missouri Street. Besides the food, landing a Chick-fil-A means more jobs and a boost to the economy.
“It’ll save us a trip from having to go to Jonesboro or across the bridge to Memphis to get some Chick-fil-A,” said Larry Flowers of Marion.
It’s no secret that Chick-fil-A drive-throughs are famously busy, and come Thursday morning when this location has its grand opening, there’s no reason to think it will be any different here.
The franchise owner says his 134 employees are more than ready.
“We’ve got quite a few different traffic plans,” owner Jonathan Cardwell said. “The police are going to help a little bit with traffic, we’ve got some contingency plans around the lot to work with that and do our best to mitigate that. Of course part of that’s going to be us moving quickly too.”
Chick-fil-A will offer drive thru, mobile curbside and third-party service only and will keep its dining room closed, for now, as a safeguard during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is gonna really be big for our city,” West Memphis Mayor Marco McClendon said. “I’m going to do everything we can to make the transition smooth and I know Chick-fil-A is gonna be great here in West Memphis.”
McClendon says he’d like to see the service road that runs in front of Chick-fil-A and several other businesses widened to handle increased traffic in the area.
“I can’t wait to get my chicken sandwich and my fries with my Polynesian sauce,” McClendon said.
The grand opening of the West Memphis Chick-fil-A at 206 West Service Road is Thursday at 6 a.m.
