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Chick-fil-A Announces First Fort Dodge Restaurant, Opening
Jan. 30

Jan. 23, 2025

Sparkling Blackberry Mint Lemonade

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Restaurant Brings Approximately 100 Full- and Part-Time Jobs to Community, Honors 100 Local Heroes with Free Chick-fil-A Entrées for a Year  


FORT DODGE, Iowa (Jan. 23, 2025) – The first Chick-fil-A® restaurant in Fort Dodge will begin serving the community on Thursday, January 30. Chick-fil-A, Inc. has selected Adam Heynen as the independent franchised local Owner-Operator of Chick-fil-A Fort Dodge. 
 
Located at 2818 2nd Ave. South, Chick-fil-A Fort Dodge will be open for dine-in, drive-thru and carry-out from 6:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday. At just over 4,600 square feet, the restaurant will seat 82 Guests inside with an additional 16 exterior patio seats. The restaurant will feature an indoor playground for Guests with families. Guests of Chick-fil-A Fort Dodge can also enjoy a multi-lane drive-thru featuring an outdoor canopy for face-to-face ordering to enhance both the Guest and Team Member experience. 
 
The Fort Dodge restaurant joins seven other Chick-fil-A restaurants serving the wider Des Moines-Ames market. 

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Locally Owned and Operated  
Chick-fil-A’s franchise model is essential to how the restaurant serves others. Most Chick-fil-A restaurants are owned and operated by a single individual, which means Chick-fil-A’s local Owner-Operators are small business owners, not passive investors, who work in their restaurants side by side with their Team Members each day. 
 
In Fort Dodge, Heynen will be responsible for all day-to-day activities of the business, including employing approximately 100 full- and part-time Team Members, serving Guests, cultivating relationships with local organizations and businesses, and tailoring philanthropic efforts to meet the Fort Dodge community’s needs.  
 
Born and raised just two hours from the restaurant in Sheldon, Iowa, Heynen is proud of his state ties. A physician assistant by trade, Heynen has always been motivated to care for others and make a positive impact on the lives of both his patients and community. During graduate school, Heynen’s wife, Jill, worked at a Chick-fil-A in Iowa City, Iowa. This sparked Heynen’s interest in the brand and its franchise model as his family experienced the restaurant company’s care for its Team Members and Guests firsthand. 
 
He felt called to embark on a career with Chick-fil-A, embracing a new way to care for those around him. For over three years, Heynen served as a Director and Senior Lead Director at a restaurant in Rochester, Minnesota, where he gleaned invaluable skills that he will bring to his role as the local Owner-Operator of Chick-fil-A Fort Dodge. 
 
"I still remember the taste of my first Chick-fil-A Original Chicken Sandwich, but what left a lasting impression was the genuine hospitality and service I experienced from the Team Members. Their kindness and attention to detail with each Guest made every visit feel special," said Heynen. “I’m so honored to bring Chick-fil-A to Fort Dodge where we’ll serve our great-tasting food, inspire future generations of leaders and build a legacy of remarkable care.” .

FPO

Caring for the Fort Dodge Community  
The Chick-fil-A business is built to add positive impact beyond profit, including giving back to local communities. Chick-fil-A local Owner-Operators are empowered to support the neighborhoods they serve with a key focus on hunger, education, and specific community needs.  
 
In celebration of the opening, Chick-fil-A, Inc. has donated $25,000 to Feeding America in honor of the new restaurant. These funds will be distributed to partners in the area to aid in the fight against hunger.  
 
Heynen’s restaurant will participate in the Chick-fil-A Shared Table® program, an initiative that redirects surplus food from the restaurant to local soup kitchens, shelters, food banks and nonprofits in need. To date, more than 30 million meals have been created from Chick-fil-A Shared Table donations from over 2,200 Chick-fil-A restaurants throughout the U.S. and Canada.  
 
In addition, Chick-fil-A Fort Dodge is recognizing 100 local heroes making an impact in the Fort Dodge area by providing them with free Chick-fil-A entrées for a year. 
 
Delicious Food; Outstanding Customer Service  
Chick-fil-A is known for creating a welcoming, remarkable restaurant experience, starting with friendly service, a warm welcome and quality food, including the original Chick-fil-A® Chicken Sandwich.   
 
Made with a real, whole, boneless breast of chicken with no added fillers, the breaded chicken is pressure cooked in fully-refined peanut oil. To complement the great-tasting chicken, fresh produce is delivered to Chick-fil-A restaurants up to six times a week for the best quality and flavor. Learn more about Chick-fil-A food and beverages here.  
 
Our Restaurant Experience 
When arriving at the restaurant, Guests will have the option of ordering through the mobile app, inside the dining room or in the multi-lane drive-thru. In the multi-line drive-thru, Chick-fil-A Team Members will greet customers in the line in-person to take each Guest’s orders on a tablet. As the order-taker walks the line, another restaurant Team Member will come to the customer’s car to take payment, allowing vehicles to move through more quickly than they do at a traditional speaker box drive-thru. 
 
Guests of Chick-fil-A Fort Dodge can place an order for pickup, dine-in or drive-thru on the Chick-fil-A® App or online. When joining the Chick-fil-A One® tiered membership program, Chick-fil-A One members receive points on every qualifying purchase which can be used to redeem available rewards. To view delivery options in the area, click here
 
Team Member Investment  
Chick-fil-A local Owner-Operators strive to hire, develop and retain top talent, helping future leaders optimize their skills and providing pathways for personal and professional development in a welcoming, purpose-driven environment. A career at Chick-fil-A offers a wide range of benefits, including hands-on training and mentoring, competitive pay and benefits, the chance to apply for scholarships to support continued education, and the flexibility to thrive in and outside of work. Chick-fil-A’s local Owner-Operators are committed to preparing their team for the future, wherever it may lead. To learn more about careers at Chick-fil-A, click here
 
For the latest news and updates on Chick-fil-A Fort Dodge, visit the local restaurant’s Facebook page and follow along on Instagram. For more information about Chick-fil-A and stories about the Brand’s food, people and customers across the country, visit chick-fil-a.com
 
About Chick-fil-A, Inc.  
Chick-fil-A, Inc. is the third largest quick-service restaurant company in the United States, known for its freshly-prepared food, signature hospitality and unique franchise model. More than 200,000 Team Members are employed by independent owner-operators in more than 3,000 restaurants across the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. In 2023, the company shared plans to expand by 2030 into Europe and Asia.  
 
Chick-fil-A owner-operators live and work in the communities their restaurants serve, each supporting local efforts to address hunger, education, and making a positive impact. The family-owned and privately held company was founded in 1967 by S. Truett Cathy. More information on Chick-fil-A is available at www.chick-fil-a.com and @ChickfilANews.   

 

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