Chick-fil-A holds Grand Opening in Benton Township Thursday morning
BENTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- The newest location of the popular fast food restaurant Chick-Fil-A has opened in Benton Township, just outside of Benton Harbor, on Thursday morning to lots of fanfare.
"Four years ago, we knew our heart was to come back home to Benton Harbor," said Owner Operator of the new restaurant Justin Barnes.
"It's a community we love, to people we love, and it's a place where we don't have to spend the rest of our life, and so we couldn't be more thrilled to bring the organization we love to the community of Benton Harbor that we serve."
The restaurant has a reputation for long drive-thru lines that have caused traffic issues at locations in the past.
"We've, we've worked really closely with Benton Township police and Chief Abrahams to come up with a plan that if we do exceed our parking lot, that we can quickly step in and make sure that our roads are open," Barnes said.
"We did post on social media yesterday, kind of our traffic plan as it relates to when you enter our property, in which we can stack roughly 70 cars in the drive through, our teams working as quickly as we can to provide both great food with that fast and accurate service with Expat hospitality. And so, for the combination of our team working really hard and really quickly, and then the help and support of the Benton Township police, we feel really good about our plan, that we're not going to inhibit the traffic flow here."
The idea of a long line weaving through a crowded parking lot can be overwhelming for some, but the design of the parking lot was seemingly successful on opening day.
"It's been phenomenal. I was a little concerned being Grand Opening my wife, this is her favorite place I came, and I was blown away by the service and, of course, the food quality," said customer Kevin Schultz.
"Making my wife's day. This is her absolute favor. She was bugging me to come here, and I told her no, because I didn't want to deal with the grand opening, but I'm so glad that I came, and she is so happy with me now."
After all the planning and effort that has gone into the opening of the new restaurant, Barnes is exciting and thankful this day has finally come.
"Words can't express how grateful I am to be a part of Chick-fil-A, to be a part of the legacy of tour Cathy, to bring the great hospitality and food and experience that Chick-fil-A is known for, to bring it here Benton Harbor, Southwest Michigan, in a community that really deserves a great experience and a great space like Chick-fil-A," Barnes said.
"One thing that is different about our location is when you come to dine in a typical location, we would just go up to the counter your order and then go sit down. When you come to Chick-fil-A here in Benton Harbor, you'll be invited to grab a seat. We have a team that comes out. It's a whole service experience here, just like if you went to another restaurant. We come and we provide, take your order, bring your food right to your table, so that you can spend more time enjoying the people you're with than waiting in line."