Warwick, RI – Fast food chicken sandwich chain Chik-fil-A’s new Bald Hill Road location is scheduled to open Sept. 4, bringing new lunch options to the Rte. 2 area as well as about 70 new jobs.
Toushoua Xiong, a Rhode Island native, is the owner/operator of the new restaurant. Construction on the stand-alone restaurant is expected to be finished in late August, offering indoor seating for 70 and outdoor patio dining for 40.
The restaurant is projected to create at least 70 new jobs. It is one of 88 stand-alone, in-line and drive through restaurants that Chick–fil–A will open throughout the country this year, creating more than 6,700 jobs, according to Mayor Scott Avedisian’s office.
“We are pleased to welcome Chick–fil–A as another “first” – for Rhode Island and for the City of Warwick,” Avedisian said. “This is another step forward in our ongoing efforts to create jobs, strengthen our local economy, and add to our already vibrant restaurant and hospitality industry.”
The chain was the subject of controversy in 2012 after President and CEO Dan Cathy made comments about his support of heterosexual marriage in an interview with the Baptist Press. Same-sex marriage supporters asserted the comments were anti-gay marriage, which Cathy has denied. Cathy has since stated in an interview with the Atlanta Journal Constitution that he will steer clear of the same-sex marriage debate and focus on the business.
The company follows a strict closed on Sundays policy and supports Christian ministry though the WinShape Foundation, started by Chick-fil-A founder, S. Truett Cathy, and his wife, Jeannette, in 1982.
Author: Rob Borkowski
Rob has worked as reporter and editor for several publications, including The Kent County Daily Times and Coventry Courier, before working for Gatehouse in MA then moving home with Patch Media. Now he's publisher and editor of WarwickPost.com. Contact him at [email protected] with tips, press releases, advertising inquiries, and concerns.
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