JOHN COFFELT Staff Writer

Manchester’s Chick-fil-A restaurant, located at 2690 Hillsboro Boulevard, officially opened Thursday, Aug. 31.

The new location is a 5,000 square foot restaurant sitting on a three-acre lot with a 44-car drive through stack.

“It’s built for space and through put, and try to keep people off the road over there,” restaurant owner/operator of Chick-fil-A Manchester Chandler England said.

The opening of a new restaurant, especially one as highly anticipated in the community as Chick-fil-A, comes with it some of the highest flows of customers ever. To make sure that a new restaurant was ready for opening, about 35 corporate trainers grand opening weekend to support England’s team.

England began his Chick-fil-A career at 17-years-old in Knoxville, wrapping sandwiches and breading chicken at the Fountain City location. From there, he rose through the ranks until he moved to Philadelphia, Penn. to become a director of operations. Then he shifted to become a traveling interim manager, running locations that don’t have franchisee owners yet and at times being a grand opening supervisor where he did exactly what four corporate supervisors will be doing here beginning Thursday.

The interview process to become an owner/operator was a 16- or 17-month selection process. England saw that a Manchester location was in the pipe, applied and was selected.

“Number one, I wanted to come back to Tennessee,” he said. “It was where I was born and raised. I when all over the country, from Buffalo, New York, to Miami, Florida to California, and I knew I really wanted to come back to Tennessee and specifically in a small town.” 

England said that he felt his personality will thrive in a small town.

“My influence and impact will be greater in a small town,” England said. “I love Tennessee and I love Middle Tennessee. I’m really excited about this community and the growth coming to this community.”

Going through school and rising the ranks at Chick-fil-A, England knows the impact that a person in the restaurant industry can have on the upcoming generation of youth.

“A lot of high school, college aged kids first jobs are going to be in the restaurant industry,” he said.

“Once I rose up in leadership, I saw the impact you could have on those people setting them up for the next step of life.”

Meeting the community on a daily basis also allows relationship to be build and a chance for impact there.

To celebrate a new store opening, Chick-fil-A donated $25,000 to Feeding America. At the local level, Manchester Chick-fil-A will be donating its timed out food to local food pantries to give back to the community.