New Chick-fil-A opens in Salinas

SALINAS, Calif. (KION) The wait is over! No more having to drive up to the Bay Area for that chicken sandwich. The newest fast food restaurant in Salinas is open. Chick-fil-A at the Northridge Mall welcomed the Central Coast community on Friday.

But, the grand opening in Salinas was a different. The traditional vouchers for free Chick-fil-A for a year went to 100 local heroes, such as first responders.

Salinas Firefighter, Mashaad Kiburi, “It's a sign of good will to the
people who help the community, giving us a little pat on the back and that
appreciation is always welcomed. We have a stressful job and any time that
people give us a little; a pat on the back is always good.”

To limit contact between team members and guests Chick-fil-A orders were
drive-thru or mobile pick up only. But, the overwhelming popularity may have been a bit much for their app. Something customer, Irene Zenk noticed."We put in a mobile order this morning before, apparently the app crashed, and came out here and saw this insane amount of people. Its really
Exciting."

During the lunch rush, cars were wrapped around the mall parking lot and down North Main Street for blocks. Cariana Magana was one of those customers, "We’ve been waiting at least, two hours."

Others, like Joel Suarez, made a special trip to Salinas from Castroville, and are happy to have more food choices in the area. "We needed something new. We got tired of McDonald's, Burger King, Panda. You know its something
Different."

In celebration of the restaurant opening, Chick-fil-A released a statement,
"Pledging to "Donate $25,000 to Feeding America. The funds will be distributed to partners within the greater Monterey Bay Area to aid in the fight against hunger."

The new Chick-fil-A has also created about 120 full and part time jobs.