Chick-fil-A opened its 3,000th restaurant on Thursday in the Redbird neighborhood in southern Dallas — an achievement franchisee Consuela Jacobs is celebrating for more than one reason.
“I’m humbled to join this company as a local Owner-Operator and open my own Chick-fil-A restaurant in a neighborhood where I spent a lot of time during my childhood,” Jacobs said in a Chick-fil-A press release.
“After several years of working as a retail buyer, I am eager to apply my learnings from the industry — and use my experience as a former Chick-fil-A Team Member — to create a place that honors the legacy of Chick-fil-A’s founder and where the Redbird neighborhood feels welcome,” she said.
The Redbird neighborhood is considered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to have “[l]imited access to supermarkets, supercenters, grocery stores, or other sources of healthy and affordable food may make it harder for some people to eat a healthy diet.” according to The Dallas Morning News.
Developers are working to revitalize the Redbird complex, where UT Southwestern opened properties in 2022, and a Tom Thumb store is scheduled to open in early 2025, the DMN reported.
“Marking the 3,000th milestone is a testament to our local Owner-Operators, Team Members, and Guests and their continued support of the Company,” Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew T. Cathy said in the press release.
“We are so thrilled to be celebrating together as we honor our founder, and my grandfather, S. Truett Cathy’s mission of remarkable customer service and demonstrating care to all,” he said.
The Redbird restaurant will incorporate “unique” features, including a red bench near the front door with a plaque honoring the 3,000th location. An interior wall will also display a framed design that pays homage to the mosaic tile artwork on the facade of the main building in The Shops at Redbird, where the restaurant is opening.
The new Chick-fil-A store will employ 110 full- and part-time workers, joining more than 144 other stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
In Texas, Chick-fil-A operates 471 stores, including 129 that have opened in the past five years.