By Bonnie Adams, Managing Editor
Photo/Cindy Merchant
Westborough – Local officials gathered July 15 to celebrate the newest addition to the area's dining options: Chick-fil-A, the fast food chain that specializes in chicken sandwiches.
Construction has already started at the restaurant's 286 Turnpike Road (Route 9) location. It is slated to open this fall and employ 80 people. The new restaurant will be the Atlanta-based chain's third Massachusetts location and the second stand-alone in the state.
Mike Lawson is the new restaurant's owner-operator. A native of Vermont, he formerly worked for Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Georgia and Florida.
“When I would go out to visit the [car rental] sites, many times I would also eat at Chick-fil-A,” he said. “They were always conveniently located but no matter which one I went to, the food was always amazing and the restaurant was always spotless.”
When the car rental business went through a shift, Lawson decided to make a change as well. It took him three years and an extensive application process, he said, to get the opportunity to own a franchise location.
Now that the grand opening is just months away, he is thrilled, he said, to be back in New England and about the buzz that the new Chick-fil-A is already generating.
“Chick-fil-A provides the ideal opportunity to own my own business and have a positive impact on my community,” said Lawson. “I couldn's be more excited to bring Chick-fil-A's freshly prepared food and signature customer service to Westborough.”
The new location will have interior seating for 135 patrons and an additional patio dining area as well as two drive-thrus. There will also be an indoor play area that will include an interactive section for toddlers.
Lawson and his wife, Katie, and their three children are currently living in Northborough.
“Our kids are already signed up for school [in Northborough],” he said. “Everywhere we have gone, people have been so nice and welcoming.”
Chick-fil-A will celebrate the grand opening of the new Westborough restaurant by giving away a one-year supply of free Chick-fil-A meals (a digital offer card loaded with 52 free Chick-fil-A meals) to the first 100 customers, age 18 or older, in line on opening day. The “First 100” celebration has in the past drawn Chick-fil-A's most loyal fans who arrive up to 24 hours in advance with tents, TVs, computers, gaming systems and other gear to pass the time while camping out overnight.
Chick-fil-A fans can stay up to date on construction and grand opening activities by visiting the restaurant's Facebook page at “Chick-fil-A at Westborough.” For those interested in employment opportunities, email [email protected].
