A retired U.S. Air Force officer is the franchisee behind Springfield’s fourth Chick-fil-A restaurant, slated to open later this year at the corner of Sunshine Street and Campbell Avenue.
Brian Heberlie, who currently works in information technology out of Baltimore for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said he became interested in the Chick-fil-A model because of a service- and community-oriented approach akin to the military.
“I wanted to be part of an organization that had that same philosophy,” Heberlie said of the Atlanta, Ga.-based restaurant chain.
Heberlie, who retired from the Air Force after 27 years prior to joining the CMS, said he and his wife, who are both originally from Missouri, would move to Springfield this fall.
“We like that part of Springfield; we like that part of Missouri,” he said. “I think it’s a great place to continue raising a family.”
The Springfield franchise officially marks Heberlie’s entrance into the Chick-fil-A business, but he also was in the running for a Branson operation that
opened in March. That restaurant is managed by franchisee Kevin Hutcheson, who previously operated the Chick-fil-A inside Battlefield Mall.
“He’ll be the third different franchisee in Springfield,” Hutcheson said of Heberlie.
Hutcheson said Steve Lowery operates the only stand-alone Chick-fil-A in Springfield, at 3700 S. Glenstone Ave., and Will Allen took over management of the Battlefield Mall store. A third restaurant inside Missouri State University’s student union is operated by Chartwells, the contract food services company that provides meals to the school’s dining halls, Hutcheson said.
At Sunshine and Campbell, Chick-fil-A Inc. closed yesterday on the purchase of two buildings from the Noreen E. Cox et al. Trust, according to a filing with the Greene County recorder.
Construction crews have demolished Bud’s Custom Muffler Shop, and plans also are in place to bring down a former Rib Crib restaurant next door. Bud’s closed after the
February 2014 death of its owner, and the Rib Crib relocated around the corner to 720 S. Campbell Ave., Bldg. Y, according to
Springfield Business Journal archives.
Heberlie said he would lease the newly constructed Chick-fil-A building from corporate, pay $10,000 up front, 15 percent of gross sales and split monthly profits. The roughly 5,000-square-foot restaurant would employ around 80 for its targeted opening in November.[[In-content Ad]]
