Students craving chicken will have another location for the pickin’, as Chick-fil-A will receive a new store location Nov. 17 on College Drive.
This will mark the sixth store in Baton Rouge. The city currently has locations on Siegen Lane, Millerville Road, inside the Mall at Cortana, the Mall of Louisiana and the University’s Student Union.
In keeping with Chick-fil-A tradition, the College Drive restaurant will host a “First 100” grand opening.
The first 100 people selected by raffle will receive one Chick-fil-A meal — chicken sandwich, waffle fries and drink — per week for a year, equaling 52 meals total.
Jim Ruane, Chick-fil-A relationship manager for south Louisiana, said the company has held this tradition for about five years.
“This is an opportunity for us to honor some of our raving fans who are willing to come out and brave the elements for a 24- to 36-hour period,” Ruane said. “Usually when we’re in a college area, we get two to three hundred people participating, knowing only 100 will be intense.” The property Chick-fil-A is leasing comprises a little more than an acre.
Kurz said the restaurant will upgrade the neighborhood.
“The old building in that location got the ugly award,” he said. “I think having a derelict building on the site versus a new functioning business that is attractive and well-maintained is far better than one that is better.”
Arton said studies have indicated Baton Rouge customers wanted a location convenient to downtown and to the University. The store is currently in the hiring process.
“We’re going to have more than 80 people employed, which is huge for a community,” Arton said. “We usually expect about 50 percent of our workforce to be about college Siegen.”
The College Drive Chick-fil-A will be open Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
 
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Contact Morgan Searles at [email protected]