Chick-fil-A Dials Up Off-Premise Innovation

On Thursday, March 21, Chick-fil-A will open its first mobile pickup restaurant in New York City, where it will fulfill online and mobile app orders.

The restaurant will use geofencing to remain in the know on guest arrivals, and digital boards inside the restaurant will show order status. The restaurant, which is located in NYC’s Upper East Side neighborhood, will not offer on-premise dining or services.

The fresh concept is owned and operated by Jared Caldwell, who has owned another nearby Chick-fil-A since 2019. Caldwell also has experience in the tech startup world, which the brand says makes him “uniquely qualified to open Chick-fil-A’s first digital-focused concept.”

The store also will participate in the Chick-fil-A Shared Table program, which feeds those in need by redirecting the restaurant’s surplus food to local soup kitchens, shelters, food banks and nonprofits. To date, the program has provided more than 23 million meals, with almost 2,000 Chick-fil-A stores participating across 47 states, Washington, D.C., and Canada.

Further, Chick-fil-A—one of several who spoke on a MUFES 2024 panel about efficiently growing unit count—also is testing an elevated drive-thru concept, which is expected to open later this year in the Atlanta metro area.