Consider the Chick-fil-A experiment in the Northwest a success.
The fast-growing chain restaurant landed in Lynnwood to great fanfare two years ago. Now the company plans to open a second location in Snohomish County, this one in Bothell.
“It has been a longtime goal of ours to serve the Bothell community, and we can at this time confirm our restaurant will open in late 2017,” said Jackie Jags, a Chick-fil-A spokeswoman, in an email.
The franchise is coming to the Canyon Park area at 22833 Bothell Highway SE. Crews tore down an old Denny’s diner to make way for the restaurant.
The location is expected to be a 4,529-square-foot, single-story building with a drive-through window and 40 parking spots.
California-based company 4G Development & Consulting submitted an environmental review for the project last summer. The restaurant is expected to draw about 700 vehicles per day to the location.
Chick-fil-A currently operates five restaurants in Washington — the Lynnwood location and ones in Bellevue, Tacoma, Puyallup and Vancouver.
The popular chain is quickly becoming one of the heavyweights in the fast-food industry. Chick-fil-A has been around for five decades and can point to growing sales in each of those years.
Chick-fil-A has gone from a regional restaurant to one of the top 10 fast casual restaurants in the nation, according to QSR magazine. The chain had $6.825 billion in total sales in 2015, landing eighth on the list of those restaurants.
More importantly, Chick-fil-A leads the industry in total sales per restaurant. Each restaurant sells $3.97 million worth of chicken sandwiches, baked chocolate chunk cookies and fresh-squeezed lemonade.
By comparison, McDonald’s makes about $2.5 million in sales per restaurant, Chipotle about $2.4 million and Baskin-Robbins only $233,000.
The Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A has seen its explosive growth occur despite protests and a call for boycott over remarks made several years ago by the company’s CEO that offended the LGBT community. The company also is closed on Sundays for religious reasons.
When the Lynnwood location opened two years ago, more than 100 people camped out to be the first in line, even though sites had opened in Bellevue and Tacoma.
An informal Everett Daily Herald poll during the Lynnwood opening drew 1,400 votes, with 60 percent saying they would eat at the chain because of the food or even because of the company’s politics. Almost a third said they’d stay away from the chain, solely because of its politics.
Spokeswoman Jags said the company is planning to open other restaurants in Kirkland and Federal Way by the end of the year. She also said Chick-fil-A is “always evaluating potential new locations.”
“We look forward to joining the Bothell community and serving all of our customers delicious food in an environment of genuine hospitality,” she wrote.
A girl jumps in front of the camera as another girl takes a picture at the opening of the Lynnwood Chick-Fil-A in 2015. The popular fast-food restaurant is opening in Bothell and continues to see explosive growth despite past controversies. (Everett Daily Herald file photo)
