Mock-up of the new Chick-fil-A location from Brand Director Grace Croley.

It is hard not to notice the flood of Facebook shares and Twitter retweets that have recently swirled around campus: Chick-fil-A is coming to the Financial District. The excitement is not only based on the fact that it will be the third location in New York City, or Chick-Fil-A’s largest proposed restaurant, but that the address is 144 Fulton Street, just a few minutes’ walk from school.

This is great news for The King’s College students who have been sacrificing a subway swipe and a trip to chaotic midtown for their eight-count nugget meal and waffle fries.

Chick-fil-A announced that their new store will open in early 2018 in a press release on their website, “The Chicken Wire,” on September 18th.

“This new Chick-fil-A will be an excellent addition to the Financial District,” freshman Jenalynn Weed said. “It will provide another cost-efficient alternative to higher priced restaurants, which will benefit us college students extensively.”

Mock-up of the inside of the new restaurant.

What makes this Chick-fil-A’s size such an incredible feat is that the 12,000 square foot store is only proposed to be 15 feet wide - a smaller width than their smallest store in Manhattan. There will be a staircase connecting the five stories of the building leading up to a rooftop deck with a view of the Freedom Tower and the surrounding area.

“The Fulton Street metro station is right next door to the restaurant, and no one will ever build on top of it,” Nathaniel Cates, design manager for restaurant development at Chick-fil-A, said in a press release. “That means our guests will always have the same views of the Freedom Tower. That was another advantage of the building that we were grateful to have.”

To many students, the new Chick-fil-A is more than just a restaurant - it is also a place to hang out or study.

“It will bring a warm, friendly atmosphere to the Financial District,” Weed said. “Whenever I go into a Chick-fil-A I can't help but smile because I know that I will be served great, real food, and that I will be treated like a valuable human being, unlike most fast food restaurants. Chick-fil-A helps to bring communities together.”

For others, it reminds them of home. Many students, like sophomore Ryan Turner, are counting down the days until the new store opens.

“I’m going to be at Chick-fil-A when it opens,” Turner said. “I grew up in Atlanta, so I got used to going there every morning, except Sunday of course, so when it opens up I would probably be there at least four times a week.”

The new restaurant’s proximity to Kings is also a great opportunity for student jobs, as Grace Croley, the new Chick-fil-A’s branding director, can attest.

“We really want to try to help to mold our employees into who they were created to be and really give them a place to work where they love,” Croley said. “They are able to serve the people who live near them and give them good food.”

The Largest Chick-fil-A in the World—Minutes Away from The King's College