Chick-fil-A to build stand-alone restaurant

“Even at stop lights, people will roll down their window and (say), ‘Hey, when are you getting one outside the mall?’” Lowery said.

Chick-fil-A fans have been clamoring for a freestanding location since the fast-food chain opened in the Battlefield Mall in 1982, Lowery said. In December, they’ll get their wish.

Chick-fil-A and Lowery are opening a restaurant at 3700 S. Glenstone Ave., between Circuit City and Outback Steakhouse. Chick-fil-A is footing the $2 million bill for the 4,200-square-foot restaurant that Lowery will run.

“It’s definitely been something our customers have been asking for, and I think they’re going to be really excited … that it’s finally going to happen,” Lowery said.

Construction should begin in mid-August. The restaurant is designed to seat 137 guests and offer a drive-through lane and children’s play area.

Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A is making a push for more stand-alone restaurants. Lowery said free-standing locations are common in the South, but they’re a rarity in the Midwest.

However, there are now four free-standing restaurants in Arkansas, and in September, the company will open the first of four freestanding locations in Kansas City.

Chick-fil-A has 1,250 restaurants nationally, 613 of which are free-standing. Senior Manager for Public Relations Jerry Johnston said Chick-fil-A is adding 65 stand-alone locations and only two mall locations this year.

“This has been a trend over the last 10 years,” Johnston said. “We’re not abandoning the mall strategy, but you’re not having as many large regional malls being built.”

If Lowery’s South Glenstone restaurant is successful, he predicts Chick-fil-A could add a second and even third stand-alone Springfield location.

Corporate officials picked the site based on demographics and traffic counts and they would decide if, when and where any subsequent locations would rise, Johnston said.

Lowery, who leases his equipment from Chick-fil-A, will relinquish control of the mall outlet to focus his efforts on the new restaurant. He expects a new franchisee for the mall location to be in place by the end of November. Officials are reviewing applications.

The new location will double Lowery’s work force to 60. It also will bring added expenses for parking lot maintenance and landscaping. However, he said, the expected increase in revenues are well worth it.

He said the average mall-based Chick-fil-A nets 12 percent profit and generates $1.3 million in annual revenues. Stand-alone stores generally bring 17 percent profit and more than $2 million in revenues, Lowery added.