Chick-fil-A preparing to open

Fans don’t have long to wait for northern Nevada’s first Chick-fil-A restaurant to open. Hiring has begun and the company last week announced the franchise owner of the new location.

The grand opening for the restaurant at 6365 S. McCarran Blvd. is planned for May 25.

The Chick-fil-A restaurant is located on the site of a long-closed Marie Callendar’s restaurant. That building was demolished last year to make room for Chick-fil-A’s new 4,500-square-foot restaurant.

The company announced last week that Ryan Smith will open Reno’s first Chick-fil-A as its franchisee.

Smith first joined the chain as part of the leadership team of a Florida franchise after graduating with a degree in business and economics from Wheaton College in Illinois. After two years in that role, he spent the next two traveling around the country, supporting franchise owners as they opened new locations. From among the 27,000 applicants Chick-fil-A receives each year for about 100 locations, Smith was selected to help pioneer the brand in Nevada where the first three locations opened in metro Las Vegas earlier this year.

He and his wife have made Reno their new home.

“My wife Danielle and I couldn’t be more excited to finally open the doors of Reno’s first Chick-fil-A,” Smith said in a press release. “We know the community has been waiting a long time and we can’t wait to welcome and serve our first guests.”

Smith, who will be involved in the day-to-day operation of the new restaurant, is hiring 130 team members. Applications are currently being accepted at www.renocfa.com for full-time and part-time positions to work in all areas of the restaurant, including leadership positions focused on talent, training and administrative support. Benefits include scholarships for continuing education, Sundays off, flexible schedules, and the family atmosphere fostered at the restaurant, according to a press release.

Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A, Inc. is a family owned and privately held restaurant company founded in 1967 by S. Truett Cathy. Chick-fil-A serves freshly prepared food in more than 2,143 restaurants in 46 states and Washington, D.C. The chain’s sales reached nearly $8 billion in 2016, which marks 49 consecutive years of sales growth.

In 2017, Chick-fil-A received the top score among fast food brands and one of the top 10 scores overall for customer experience in the Temkin Experience Ratings survey.

In 2016, Chick-fil-A was named the Technomic Consumer’s Choice for “providing value through service,” named the company “the most polite restaurant in the country” in QSR Magazine’s annual drive-thru report and was the only restaurant brand named to the Top 10 “Best Companies to Work For” by 24/7 Wall St.

The South McCarran Chick-fil-A restaurant is among 102 Chick-fil-A locations that will open this year. More information about the Reno restaurant can be found by visiting https://www.facebook.com/renocfa/.