SAN DIEGO – Can’t get enough Chick-fil-A? In the San Diego area, you’re in luck.
Two new locations of the popular chain restaurant debut this week with the first opening its doors Wednesday at 804 Dennery Road, east of Interstate 805, in San Diego’s Ocean View Hills neighborhood. The other opens Thursday at 475 Hacienda Drive in Vista, south of state Route 78.
They join nearly 20 other locations in the county from Oceanside to Chula Vista, the chain’s website shows.
In the South Bay, the chain tapped San Diego native Jon Tucker as the restaurant’s independent franchised owner and operator, the company said. It’s a full-circle moment for Tucker, who worked his first job at Chick-fil-A at age 15 and also met his now-wife at one of their restaurants.
In a statement, Tucker called the opportunity “truly a dream come true.”
“Having met my wife through working at Chick-fil-A, Chick-fil-A has always had a special place in my heart, and together we look forward to serving and helping the community,” he said.
Up in North County, longtime company worker Luis Gomez, who started as a team member and advanced upward to help open more than a dozen other locations, will operate the restaurant.
Gomez said his decade working at Chick-fil-A has opened “countless doors for me,” and he’s eager to make a difference.
“The word restaurant is derived from the French verb, restaurer, which means to restore,” Gomez said. “I feel humbled to lead and provide a place for our team members and guests to come for restoration.”
In total, the two new restaurants will employ about 350 full- and part-time workers. They’re each honoring 100 “local heroes” making an impact in the community with free Chick-fil-A for a year, the chain said. The openings also come with a total of $50,000 in donations to Feeding America.
Both locations are open Monday through Saturday. The Ocean View Hills restaurant operates from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and until 11 p.m. for drive-thru orders. The Vista site runs from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.