Chick-fil-A closing a store in Charlotte region, leaving over 110 people out of work

Catherine Muccigrosso
·3 min read
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The popular Southern fast-food chicken chain Chick-fil-A is permanently closing a Charlotte-area store, leaving more than 100 workers without jobs, according to a recent state report.

Chick-fil-A Franklin Square in Gastonia will permanently close, effective June 15, laying off 117 employees, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) filed April 14 with the North Carolina Department of Commerce.

The store, at 3350 East Franklin Blvd. is the restaurant chain’s only Gastonia location. Gastonia is west of Charlotte.

Workers at the store may not necessarily get a job at another Chick-fil-A. “There is no guarantee of future employment with Chick-fil-A Inc.,” Chick-fil-A Inc. interim manager Vickie Witt said in a letter to the state agency.

As Chick-fil-A Franklin Square closes a new store will open on Cox Road in Gastonia this summer, according to the Atlanta-based fast-food chain. The franchise will be owned by Nolan Hatley.

The new restaurant site off Interstate 85 is about 1 mile from the Franklin Square store.

Chick-fil-A Franklin Square workers will be paid through their last day of employment and can apply for positions at the new store, the company said in a statement to The Charlotte Observer Thursday.

In January, construction company A & A Grading & Hauling Inc. told the Gaston Gazette it was demolishing the former Ruby Tuesday on Cox Road to make way for a Chick-fil-A store. A site search on Google shows the store opening in June.

Chick-fil-A store openings

Local residents have other options, too.

The Atlanta-based company opened a Gaston County restaurant in July in Belmont at 925 South Point Road. Chick-fil-A has another store in Belmont at 801 Park St.

In October, Chick-fil-A opened its 58th store in the region at 7404 Matthews Mint Hill Road in Mint Hill, southeast of Charlotte.

And In Charlotte, Chick-fil-A reopened its renovated East Woodlawn Avenue location last June as a drive-thru only site to ease traffic congestion.

Chicken sandwich competition

Chick-fil-A has hot competition from other chicken sandwich chains in the Charlotte region, in the iconic Bojangles’ hometown.

In March, Arkansas-based Slim Chickens made its North Carolina debut opening its first Charlotte store in the University City area. The fast-casual chain is planning to open 14 other locations in North Carolina and South Carolina, including Columbia, Indian Trail and Concord.

West Coast-based Dave’s Hot Chicken said last year it’s planning to open 12 fast-casual franchise locations in Charlotte.

And Bojangles, founded in Charlotte in 1977, has been expanding, too.

The chicken-and-biscuit chain plans add more local stores, including a drive-thru only site at 3809 E. Independence Blvd. and another store at 300 West Ave., The Charlotte Observer previously reported..

And Bojangles has opened or plans to open nearly 130 stores with debuts in Ohio, New York, Texas, Illinois and Arkansas over the past two years. The expansion includes 40 restaurant openings at Love’s Travel Stops.