Renovations close Chick-fil-A for summer

Students will not be able to "Eat mor chikin" at the on-campus Chick-fil-A this summer due to renovations scheduled for the cafeteria-style eatery.

The Chick-fil-A Express in the John T. Washington Center will close 2 p.m. on Monday.
Shannon Frost, the UCF marketing project manager, said the restaurant is being renovated to better serve the growing needs of the UCF community.

It will offer patrons a fresh, new Chick-fil-A experience, she said.

After the renovations, the inside will look more like other stand-alone Chick-fil-A restaurants.
Additional seating will also be added to accommodate the 5,450 patrons that eat Chick-fil-A each week.

When the renovations are completed, the restaurant will seat 141 customers.

Also, for quicker, more efficient customer service, six new registers will be added, Frost said.

When the restaurant re-opens, it will also have an expanded product menu that will include milkshakes, iced tea and ice cream products, Frost said.

Stephanie Farrow, a freshman communication sciences and disorders major, said she is disappointed by the news that Chick-fil-A will be closed for the summer.

Farrow said one thing she hopes  the renovation will change is the seating accommodations.

She wants more space to eat inside the restaurant because it is always packed.

Jill Blueford, a freshman psychology major, said she is upset about the temporary closing of Chick-fil-A because it is one of the best restaurants on campus.

This semester, Blueford went to Chick-fil-A three to four times a week.

She will have to find somewhere else to eat when she takes summer classes.

According to Frost, the fast-food restaurant's tentative grand re-opening is set for early fall after renovations are complete.

With the restaurant closing for a semester, business will be impacted, but renovation is more important, Frost said.

This is because dining services wants to provide a better experience for students, faculty and staff.

Although the restaurant is called a Chick-fil-A Express, it will be just like a full-service Chick-fil-A, but is still considered an Express because it's on a college campus.