Restaurants to Collectively Bring Approximately 300 Full- and Part-Time Jobs to the Detroit Area
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Jan. 25, 2021) – Chick-fil-A® Shelby Township and Chick-fil-A Northville, located just north and northwest of Detroit, respectively, are slated to open on Thursday, Jan. 28. Chick-fil-A, Inc. has selected Dennis Sampier as the independent franchised Owner/Operator of Chick-fil-A Shelby Township and Phil Whitsel as the independent franchised Owner/Operator of Chick-fil-A Northville. Sampier and Whitsel will be responsible for all day-to-day activities of their respective businesses, including employing approximately 150 full- and part-time Team Members at each restaurant, cultivating relationships with local organizations and neighboring businesses, and serving Guests. The opening of Chick-fil-A Shelby Township will mark the first restaurant to open in Macomb County, while Chick-fil-A Northville will join Chick-fil-A restaurants in Troy and Novi, making it the third restaurant to open in Oakland County.
Chick-fil-A Shelby Township is located at 13811 Hall Rd. and Chick-fil-A Northville is located at 20135 Haggerty Rd. Both restaurants will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
At Chick-fil-A, safe service is our first priority. New Chick-fil-A restaurants will take additional time to review operations and make sure appropriate precautions are in place before opening their dining rooms, to ensure the safety of Guests and Team Members. Currently, Chick-fil-A Shelby Township and Chick-fil-A Northville will open via drive-thru only. Guests can take advantage of contactless ordering and payment through the Chick-fil-A mobile app. To learn more about Chick-fil-A’s response to the coronavirus, please visit our safe service page.
In place of the traditional Chick-fil-A First 100® Grand Opening celebration, these two new restaurants have each identified 100 local heroes making an impact in the Detroit area and will surprise them with free Chick-fil-A for a year. Additionally, the Chick-fil-A Foundation has partnered with Feeding America to donate $25,000 to a local food bank for every new restaurant opening. To aid in the fight against hunger, the opening of these two restaurants will come along with a combined $50,000 donation to organizations in the Detroit area that are doing good work to care for others.
Chick-fil-A Shelby Township
Michigan native and Central Michigan University alumni, Dennis Sampier first encountered Chick-fil-A while he was living in Atlanta to pursue a career in professional sports, working part time for the Atlanta Hawks. Finding himself back in his home state a few years later, Sampier continued to work in professional sports with the Detroit Pistons before deciding to refocus his career on his community and become a Chick-fil-A Operator. A life-long member of this community, Sampier has fond childhood memories of the Shelby Township area and currently resides just a few miles down the road from his new restaurant with his wife and three children.
“I have been part of the surrounding area for as long as I can remember, and I see this new restaurant as a way to give back to a place that has given me so much,” said Sampier. “I look forward to serving amazing food with unmatched kindness and helping to mold bright futures for my Team Members by providing personal and professional development opportunities each step of the way.”
Chick-fil-A Northville
Phil Whitsel’s professional journey with Chick-fil-A began in 2018 when he decided to leave his career in the shopping center industry to work full-time in a Chick-fil-A restaurant. Determined to achieve his goal of becoming an Operator, Whitsel knew that he needed to further commit himself to this career change in order to do so. While most recently from the Chicago area, Whitsel has called Michigan home for most of his life and currently lives in Northville with his wife, Amanda, who will be joining him at the new restaurant, and their three children.
“I am thrilled to be able to bring a new Chick-fil-A restaurant to the place I have called home for so many years,” said Whitsel. “My goal for this new restaurant is to bring the community not just delicious food, but also a warm and welcoming environment for Team Members and guests alike.”
Team Member Investment
Chick-fil-A franchised Operators are committed to hiring, developing and retaining top talent, and providing a great work environment for people of all ages and backgrounds. They also offer their Team Members opportunities for flexible work hours and leadership growth, competitive pay and benefits, hands-on training and mentoring, and the chance to apply for scholarships to support their continuing education. As with all Chick-fil-A restaurants, Team Members are guaranteed Sundays off.
Quality Ingredients; Delicious Food
Chick-fil-A focuses on serving customers great-tasting food made with high quality ingredients. The produce we use in our recipes is delivered to our kitchens up to six times a week. Our salads are made with whole fruits and vegetables that are are chopped and prepared fresh throughout the day. Chick-fil-A Lemonade is made from three simple ingredients: lemon juice, sugar and water.
Our breaded chicken is pressure cooked in 100%, fully refined peanut oil and all U.S. Chick-fil-A restaurants now serve chicken raised with No Antibiotics Ever, starting from the egg. By not allowing antibiotics of any kind, Chick-fil-A chicken meets the highest commitment for non-antibiotic use. For more information about the Chick-fil-A No Antibiotics Ever commitment, visit www.chick-fil-a.com/no-antibiotics-ever.
Commitment to Customer Service
With a longstanding tradition in the restaurant industry for setting high standards in customer service, Chick-fil-A earned recognition for providing the "best fast food customer service in America" according to America's Best Customer Service 2019 report by Newsweek, among other honors.
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. For the latest news and updates on Chick-fil-A Shelby Township and Northville, visit their Facebook pages.
About Chick-fil-A, Inc.
Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A, Inc. is a family owned and privately held restaurant company founded in 1967 by S. Truett Cathy. Devoted to serving the local communities in which its franchised restaurants operate, and known for its Original Chick-fil-A® Chicken Sandwich, Chick-fil-A serves freshly prepared food in more than 2,600 restaurants in 47 states, Washington, D.C., and Canada.
A leader in customer service satisfaction, Chick-fil-A was named top fast food restaurant in Newsweek’s 2019 America’s Best Customer Service report and received several honors in QSR’s 2019 Reader’s Choice Awards, including “The Most Respected Quick-Service Brand” and “Best Brand for Overall Experience”. Additionally, Glassdoor named Chick-fil-A one of the top 100 best places to work in 2020. More information on Chick-fil-A is available at www.chick-fil-a.com.
