Weekend Cooking- Chick-fil-a Comes to NYC

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So the big news in NYC last week was that Chick-fil-a opened up their first stand-alone restaurant in Midtown. Our family in Pittsburgh turned us onto the deliciousness that is Chick-fil-a and every time we see one when we are traveling, we try to stop there.

The lines for Chick-fil-a are crazy long, but these people know what they are doing. I found myself in Midtown and saw all these people walking up Sixth Avenue carrying Chick-fil-a bags and for some reason it reminded me of The Walking Dead, except these zombies wore business suits and looked really happy.

I got to the store and was directed down 37th Street where there was a line of at least 100 people. But I remained undaunted. I had time and at certain points in the line, there was a sign that said things like this:

I got in line at 12:07pm at the 30 minute mark sign. There were friendly Chick-fil-a staff members at several points in the line, handing out menus and answering questions.

I made into the restaurant by 12:11pm, and an employee took my order on an Ipad, asked my name and gave me a tag that said "Red Register".

I was sent to the Red Register by a line expediter, where I walked up to a cashier who said "Diane?" and then read me back my order, and asked if I wanted ketchup and dipping sauce and anything else. My food was ready and I headed upstairs to the seating area.

There is a big communal table where eight people can sit and lots of two and four-seat tables, with fresh flowers on them. A young lady cleaned the table I chose and then I sat down with my chicken strips and waffle fries and Dr. Pepper. 

I enjoyed my hot, delicious lunch and when I was ready to leave, another young lady came over and said that she would take my trash for me. I was out of there by 12:27. My only complaint was that the waffle fries were not salted and there wasn't any salt packets in my bag.

Chick-fil-a knows how to run a restaurant and this was the most impressive restaurant launch I have ever seen, and my husband and I owned and operated two fast food restaurants so I know of where I speak.

I read an article in Racked that said that at 5000 square feet, this is their largest restaurant, and they brought the operators of their four largest restaurants in to advise them. It is three floors, with a basement kitchen, the second floor has four teams classified by color where the food is put together and a register for each color, and the top floor is seating.

They have an electronic dumbwaiter that brings the supplies up and down, and trash compactors that are sensor operated. 

My sons can't wait to try it and now when I'm in midtown, I'll have a new go-to lunch place. And next time, I'm getting a handspun milkshake to go.