After 12 years of experience with Chick-fil-A, Jerald Huggins, a 1997 of Texas A&M, owns the first stand-alone Chick-fil-A in College Station.
When the restaurant opened on Mar. 27, Huggins said a personal goal was realized for him.
“I love my job,” Huggins said. “I always wanted to have my own business and Chick-fil-A is a way to not only have my own business but to also have good corporate structure that will back me and support me.”
Students were pitching tents hours before the new restaurant’s opening .
“I appreciate their commitment,” Jerald Huggins, College Station Chick-fil-A owner and operator said. “Those are some loyal Chick-fil-A fans. We definitely want to build relationships with those people.”
Leaning against the outside glass in sunglasses and a white button-up, Huggins said he is pleased with the community’s response to the new location.
“People seem really pumped up about Chick-fil-A,” he said.
As bright red seats inside are quickly emptied and filled again, friendly conversation and the smell of warm chicken create an energetic mood at the new restaurant.
“I would say it’s pretty much like a party amosphere,” Rebecca Cox, junior human resource development major said. “Everybody is just having a lot of fun. There are quite a few workers running around, which is a little unsettling but hopefully that means they’re getting everything done.”
Huggins says he has high expectations for the restaurant, remembering that College Station is home to 46,000 students.
“We’re at the corner of Texas and Harvey,” he said. “Those are two of the busiest streets in town from what I can remember.
“Construction might put a little bit of a damper on us,” he said. But I think we’ll do pretty well, especially with football games and other events.”
While Chick-fil-A may offer off-campus and surrounding area families the “original chicken sandwich,” Cox says she prefers Aggieland’s own Layne’s.
“After my freshmen year living on Southside, I think I had my fill of Chick-fil-A,” she said. “I’m all Laynes, 100 percent. There’s no competition.”
Launched in the Greenbriar Mall in Atlanta in 1967 by Truett Cathy, Chick-fil-A has since grown to more than 1,375 locations in 37 states as well as Washington D.C.
The College Station Chick-fil-A employs more than 50 people, of which at least 20 are college students.
After greeting the first 100 people, Huggins said that he is appreciative of their dedication and hopes they continue to visit Chick-fil-A.
“That loyalty goes a long way with us,” he said. “We want those people to come back and spend time with us and get to know us.”
Breakfast at the College Station Chick-fil-A is served from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., and the drive-thru will stay open Thursday through Saturday until 11 p.m.
“Eventually, that’ll change to midnight,” Huggins said. “It also might just be for those nights or every night. We’re still studying that. We really just want to cater to what the students want.”