Community Flocks to Nearby Chick-Fil-A

Chick-Fil-A, the third most profitable fast food chain in America, recently opened a location near Browning, and on every day during the school year, an upper school student can be spotted eating there.

“There is no place in New York City that serves better fried chicken sandwiches, hand-cut french fries, and fresh grilled meat than Chick-Fil-A,” Lucas R. ’22 said. “We’re so lucky it opened relatively close to school.”

A Chick-Fil-A is walking distance from the School on 57th Street and Lexington Avenue.

The 30 Browning students from the Class of 2022 were polled about their new favorite lunchtime dining establishment and why they love eating there.

“Chick-Fil-A is without a doubt my go-to restaurant during lunch,” Nicholas L. ’22 said. “Honestly, every item on Chick-Fil-A’s menu is delicious, their hospitality is welcoming, and their service is fast.”

Because Chick-Fil-A is a 10 minute walk from Browning, students noted that it is hard to make the trip and dine during their designated 25 minute lunch period. For this reason, many students order their desired meal on the Chick-Fil-A app before their lunch period to avoid the long wait in line. Unlike the other restaurants near Browning, which do not require ordering ahead of time, Chick-Fil-A’s relative distance makes using the app essential.

To go along with their popular meals, the franchise has earned accolades for splendid customer service. According to a report by Kate Taylor from the Business Insider, Chick-Fil-A employees said "thank you" in 95.2 percent of drive-thru encounters, based on data from nearly 2,000 visits to 15 restaurant chains. Compared to McDonald's, the rate at which the workers said “thank you” was 78.4 percent, putting it in 14th place out of the 15 chains analyzed. 

Since Chick-Fil-A has become the new hot spot for students to grab a quick bite, this year's student council president, Austin S. ’20, is trying to secure a discount for Browning customers, similar to the discount students enjoy at Ray’s, a nearby pizza parlor.

“All the students were raving about Chick-Fil-A,” Austin said, “so I thought it would be great to get Browning students a discount. We deserve it since we have become frequent and loyal customers.”

Austin’s initiative has proven tricky to implement, as he has yet to persuade the franchise to grant a discount to a small private school. He intends to continue his campaign to secure at least a five percent discount for Browning students, hopeful that he can convince the franchise managers of the value of its Browning clientele. Since managers of other New York City Chick-Fil-A locations have indicated that franchises in the Midwest and California offer small discounts to schools, Austin is hopeful that he can prevail upon the local managers to similarly reward its Browning customers.

Even without the added incentive of a discount, it appears that the members of the Browning community will continue to flock to Chick-Fil-A for delicious food and service with a smile.