Before the sun had risen Thursday morning, prospective customers were lined up outside Lebanon’s new Chick-fil-A.
Doors opened at 6:30 sharp, and the chicken-centered restaurant filled up instantly — not to mention a few people waiting outside so as not to overfill the space.
This comes less than a year after Chick-fil-A began demolishing the former Golden Corral structure at the 1147 Quentin Road site, and only around six weeks since Chick-fil-A began looking for employees.
The restaurant is franchise-owned by Marty Windisch and wife Madison.
Marty, who had experience in accounting and financing before he joined Chick-fil-A, said he is excited to set up shop here in Lebanon. He mentioned his experience working in Gambrills, Maryland, under franchise-owner Brian Smith, who he said was able to support his community through the business.
“It’s been amazing; Lebanon is what we consider home and we’ve received amazing support from the community,” Marty said, going on to add: “Our vision is to be the light — a place for the community to come and know they’re loved and cared for.”
Marty said there was great interest from the community in applying, and around 130 residents are now employed at the restaurant in various capacities.
Marty said both he and Madison — a former third-grade teacher — are passionate about education. As a result, they selected 100 local teachers to be the recipient of Chick-fil-A’s Community Heroes award, giving them free chicken fare for a year.
He also mentioned that Chick-fil-A has donated $25,000 to the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank in celebrating of the restaurant’s grant opening. A press release also states that the restaurant will be redirecting surplus food to local nonprofits.
The new restaurant will be open 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
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