It’s hard to find Nate Miller without a large Chick-fil-A sweet tea in his hand.
The self-proclaimed Chick-fil-A fanatic visited the chicken joint about three times a week, every week, over summer.
“The employees know me by face and name at this point,” the 20-year-old said.
Now, Miller is ready to pick up his standard chicken biscuit and hash browns at the new Gainesville location, at 3938 SW Archer Road in Butler Plaza.
On Nov. 29, Chick-fil-A will open the 5,000-square-foot location, about half a mile away from its current store, said Mary Reichardt, corporate director of marketing for Butler Plaza. The prior location will close Nov. 24.
“I’ve always really liked the food,” Miller, a UF economics junior, said. “I’m from West Virginia, and there were rarely any Chick-fil-As there, so I started going there a lot when I moved.”
The new location will have more space for cars so lines of drive-thru traffic won’t back up onto Archer Road, Reichardt said. She said the restaurant is excited to include a double drive-thru in order to prevent this problem.
There is no estimate on how much construction of the building will cost, Reichardt said.
The staff who works at the current location will most likely transfer to the new one once it opens, Reichardt said. Breakfast will still be served at this location and the restaurant will operate at the same hours as its other branches.
Other amenities of the building include an outdoor patio area, playground area, wood paneling, recycled coke bottle chandeliers, open tables and booths, Reichardt said.
“It’s just thoughtfully designed with families in mind,” Reichardt said.
The opening day of the new location will feature a ribbon-cutting ceremony where local city officials may speak, Reichardt said.
“We’re just really excited to have such a high-level tenant that sets an example of how to do business from a customer service perspective,” Reichardt said.
Contact Dana Cassidy at dcassidy@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter at @danacassidy_
Chick-fil-A’s stance opposing same-sex marriage has caused recent controversy and led to Change.org petitions to remove the fast food chain from college campuses.
