Chick-fil-A applies to open a restaurant in Westbury
Chick-fil-A's newest spot offers lunch and dinner with menu favorites, healthier options and a pickup counter for app users. Credit: Ed Betz
Chick-fil-A wants a bigger portion of Long Island’s fast-food business.
The chicken sandwich chain, which has three locations open on Long Island and two more planned for Woodmere and Garden City, has applied to the Town of Hempstead to add an eatery in Westbury.
During its meeting Thursday, the town board is scheduled to vote on a site plan for a Chick-fil-A drive-thru with outside seating at 1530 Old Country Rd. in Westbury, according to its agenda.
Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A Inc. has more than 2,355 restaurants in 47 states and Washington, D.C., the vast majority of which are franchises.
The privately owned chain grew by 7.6 percent to 2,260 locations from 2016 to 2017, according to Technomic Inc., a Chicago-based restaurant industry research firm.
Long Island has been an important part of Chick-fil-A's expansion into the tristate area, said Jackie Jags, spokeswoman for the company.
“We are always evaluating potential new locations in hopes of serving existing and new Long Island customers great food with remarkable service,” she said in an emailed statement. The statement didn't directly address the Westbury application.
Of the 12 Chick-fil-A restaurants open in New York State, three are franchises on Long Island.
The chain entered the local market in 2015 with a restaurant on Route 347 in Port Jefferson Station and now also has spots in Commack and Hicksville.
A location will open in Roosevelt Field mall in Garden City in November, mall spokesman Daniel Delson said.
In April, the chain received Hempstead zoning board approval for a proposed eatery at 249-23 Rockaway Blvd. in 5 Towns Shopping Center in Woodmere, town spokesman Mike Fricchione said Tuesday.
Chick-fil-A restaurant, which has three locations open on Long Island and two more planned for Woodmere and Roosevelt Field, also has applied to the Hempstead town board to add an eatery in Westbury. (Getty Images/PAUL J. RICHARDS) Credit: Getty Images/PAUL J. RICHARDS/Getty Images/PAUL J. RICHARDS
The first Chick-fil-A opened in Atlanta in 1967.
The chain is known for its conservative Christian values, which include being closed Sundays. The chain was at the center of controversy in recent years because its nonprofit, the WinShape Foundation, has donated money to organizations that oppose same-sex marriage.
Chick-fil-A is an increasingly popular fast-food option.
Its sales increased 14 percent to $9 billion between 2016 and 2017, said Robert Byrne, senior manager of consumer insights at Technomic.
It was the seventh-biggest U.S. restaurant chain, based on systemwide sales in 2017, and is expected to pass Wendy’s and Burger King to crack the top five, for the first time, in 2018, he said.
In a 2018 Technomic consumer survey, Chick-fil-A was rated the best overall quick service restaurant, and also was ranked the most kid friendly.
“There is demand for what they bring to the table in terms of what the brand represents and the value,” Byrne said.
Tory N. Parrish covers retail and small business for Newsday. She has worked at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Observer-Dispatch in Utica, N.Y.
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