Meet the couple behind Tulare’s first Chick-fil-A

Brett McKinnon spent 19 years working for Chick-fil-A before becoming the first operator to open a location in the South Valley — a milestone he called “humbling and incredibly rewarding.”

McKinnon and his wife, Amber, previously worked as directors, a high-level management role, at a Chick-fil-A in South Carolina before setting their sights on the Central Valley.

Chick-fil-A doesn’t operate as a traditional franchise. The company owns its restaurant locations and equipment, and operators are selected through a competitive application and development process, with only a $10,000 upfront fee.

The McKinnons’ Tulare restaurant, located just off Highway 99 on East Cartmill Avenue, held its grand opening May 7, bringing the chain to a market it had not previously served.

To celebrate, the McKinnons and their team hosted a “Moove-In” party starting at 6:30 a.m. Customers dressed in a full cow costume or wearing cow-spotted accessories received a free entrée or kids meal.

Chick-fil-A is known for its fried chicken sandwiches, wraps, nuggets and tenders, made from a 60-year-old recipe. Its signature smoky Chick-fil-A sauce and waffle-cut fries are also popular menu items.

A Chick-fil-A location in Visalia is set to begin construction soon, to become Tulare County’s second location.

In honor of the new location, Chick-fil-A pledged to donate $25,000 to the Central California Food Bank, Central California’s largest hunger-relief organization, serving Fresno, Madera, Tulare, Kings and Kern counties.

The new restaurant created around 120 jobs.

There are more than 3,000 Chick-fil-A locations in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada, with plans to expand into Europe and Asia. California has about 200 locations. The Tulare restaurant is the fourth in the Central Valley, joining two in Fresno and one in Clovis.

https://thebusinessjournal.com/chick-fil-a-tulare-first-south-valley-location/