Restaurant to Bring Approximately 100 Full- and Part-Time Jobs to Community
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (August 23, 2021) – A new Chick-fil-A restaurant is slated to open for business in South Bend on Thursday, August 26. Chick-fil-A®, Inc. has selected Julia Mueller as the independent franchised Owner/Operator of Chick-fil-A Portage Rd. Mueller will be responsible for all day-to-day activities of the business, including employing approximately 100 full- and part-time Team Members, cultivating relationships with local organizations and neighboring businesses, and serving guests. Chick-fil-A Portage Rd. is located at 3703 Portage Ave., near the intersection of Portage Avenue and Appaloosa Lane, and will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
Chick-fil-A remains committed to serving guests safely. Guests can take advantage of contactless ordering and payment through the free Chick-fil-A mobile app or through online ordering. To learn more about Chick-fil-A’s safety protocols, please visit the COVID-19 response page.
In place of the traditional Chick-fil-A First 100® Grand Opening celebration, Chick-fil-A Portage Rd. will be surprising 100 local heroes making an impact in South Bend with free Chick-fil-A for a year. Additionally, in honor of the new restaurant opening, Chick-fil-A will donate $25,000 to Feeding America. The funds will be distributed to partners within the greater South Bend area to aid in the fight against hunger.
Locally Owned and Operated
Chick-fil-A Portage Rd. is locally owned and operated by Julia Mueller. Born in Woodbridge, Illinois, Mueller attended Northeastern Illinois University. Shortly after graduating, Mueller began her career with Chick-fil-A as the Director of Operations for Chick-fil-A Fox Valley Center in Aurora, Ilinois. After serving in that role for nearly five years, Mueller, her husband and their three daughters moved to Michigan so she could further her career with Chick-fil-A by becoming a restaurant Operator. Today, Mueller and her family are excited to embark on their next chapter in Indiana, bringing the second Chick-fil-A restaurant to South Bend and serving excellent food with genuine hospitality to their new neighbors.
“Being a Chick-fil-A Operator allows for the unique opportunity to truly engrain yourself within the community that you serve,” said Mueller. “I am thrilled to call South Bend my new home and to give back to this community, my new Team Members, their families, and beyond.”
Team Member Investment
Chick-fil-A franchised Operators are committed to hiring, developing and retaining top talent, and providing a positive 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.
Quality Ingredients; Delicious Food
Chick-fil-A focuses on serving customers great-tasting food made with high quality ingredients. The produce used in recipes is delivered to kitchens up to six times a week. Salads are made with whole fruits and vegetables that are chopped and prepared fresh throughout the day. Chick-fil-A Lemonade is made from three simple ingredients: lemon juice, sugar and water.
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 2020 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 Portage Rd., visit the Chick-fil-A Portage Rd. Facebook page and follow along on Instagram.
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 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.
