The Chick-fil-A that will open in Greece this spring has already been a long time in the making.
Franchise owner Alan Taylor told a shivering crowd gathered for a ceremonial ground breaking today (Wednesday, Jan. 3) that he interviewed with the fast-food company eight years ago. But since he was insistent that his restaurant be located in the town he adopted in 1999, he had to wait all this time until the Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A company expanded into Upstate New York.
Greece Town Supervisor Bill Reilich and other officials gathered for the outdoor ceremony at 2140 W. Ridge Road. The new restaurant is just east of and across the street from The Mall at Greece Ridge. The building’s framework is already in place and Taylor said it will open in the spring, possibly April, depending on the weather.
The Greece store will be Chick-fil-A’s first in Monroe County and second in Upstate New York. A store in the Syracuse area town of Cicero will open in February. Others in Plattsburgh and Buffalo are due later in 2018.
Taylor, who has been in banking and finance, said he fell in love with the company’s chicken sandwich 25 years ago and was inspired to join the company after his younger brother began working there 12 years ago.
“I feel honored Chick-fil-A selected me to be the first operator in Monroe County,” Taylor said.
The new owner and his wife, Elizabeth, have four children and they’re involved in school and youth sports in Greece. Taylor said he will soon hold meetings to consider how the store will engage in community partnerships by providing store resources or time.
The store will employ approximately 100 full-time and part-time workers.
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