Chick-fil-A To Open In Concord, Bring 125 Jobs To Community

CONCORD, CA – A new Chick-fil-A restaurant will begin serving the Concord community this week.

Chick-fil-A The Willows, 1981 Diamond Blvd., will open its doors to the public for the first time on Thursday, Sept. 19. The restaurant's opening hours are from 6:30 a.m. until 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It is closed on Sundays, as are all Chick-fil-A locations nationwide.

The Concord restaurant joins 24 Chick-fil-A restaurants already serving the greater Bay Area market.

Locally Owned & Operated

Most Chick-fil-A restaurants are owned and operated by one person, which means Chick-fil-A’s local owner-operators are small business owners, not passive investors, who work in their restaurants side by side with their team members each day.

In Concord, Brent Allen was selected as the independent franchised local owner-operator. In this role, Allen is responsible for all day-to-day business activities, including employing approximately 125 full- and part-time team members, serving guests, cultivating relationships with local organizations and businesses, and tailoring philanthropic efforts to meet the Concord community’s needs.

Chick-fil-A has been in Allen’s life for as long as he can remember, as he was born and raised in the company’s hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. While growing up, Allen and his family enjoyed Chick-fil-A at least twice a week, and over time, Allen came to know Chick-fil-A, Inc. Founder, S. Truett Cathy. Allen quickly grew inspired by Truett's entrepreneurship and Chick-fil-A’s signature hospitality. Ever since, Allen felt called to introduce the brand he came to know and love to new communities.

After growing with the businesses, that is precisely what Allen did as he was eventually selected to be the local owner-operator for one of the first restaurants in the Bay Area. In 2012, Allen opened the first Chick-fil-A restaurant in Walnut Creek, where he has planted roots with his wife and their two sons. He has happily operated the restaurant for more than a decade. Today, Allen takes the next step in his Chick-fil-A journey, operating a second restaurant and being the first to bring the company’s signature hospitality to Concord.

"As I reflect on my many joyful moments over Chick-fil-A meals, today represents a big moment for me," Allen said. "This opportunity to bring the same delicious food and genuine care that I fell in love with as a young boy to a new community truly energizes me. The East Bay has been my home for many years, and I look forward to further enriching Contra Costa County through unique leadership and development opportunities, as well as community giving."

Caring For The Concord Community

Local owner-operators like Allen are empowered to support the neighborhoods they serve with a key focus on hunger, education and specific community needs. In honor of its new Concord location, Chick-fil-A, Inc. has donated $25,000 to Feeding America to support the local hunger relief efforts of Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano, a Feeding America partner food bank.

Allen’s restaurant will participate in the Chick-fil-A Shared Table® program, an initiative that redirects surplus food from the restaurant to local soup kitchens, shelters, food banks and nonprofits in need. To date, more than 25 million meals have been created from Chick-fil-A Shared Table donations from over 2,000 Chick-fil-A restaurants throughout the United States and Canada.

Chick-fil-A The Willows also plans to recognize 100 local heroes who are making an impact in the Concord area by providing them with free Chick-fil-A entrées for a year.

Quality Team Members, Quality Food

Chick-fil-A is known for its freshly prepared food, signature hospitality and unique franchise model. Made with a real, whole, boneless breast of chicken with no added fillers, the breaded chicken is pressure-cooked in fully refined peanut oil. To complement the chicken, produce is delivered to Chick-fil-A restaurants up to six times a week for the best quality and flavor.

Guests can place an order for pickup, dine-in, delivery, drive-thru or Mobile Thru on the Chick-fil-A® App or online. See delivery options for this location.

Local Chick-fil-A owner-operators strive to hire, develop and retain top talent, help future leaders optimize their skills and provide pathways for personal and professional development in a welcoming, purpose-driven environment.

A career at Chick-fil-A offers many benefits, including hands-on training and mentoring, competitive pay and benefits, the chance to apply for scholarships to support continued education, and the flexibility to thrive in and outside of work. See career opportunities at Chick-fil-A.

About Chick-fil-A

The family-owned and privately held company was founded in 1967 by S. Truett Cathy and has become the third-largest quick-service restaurant company in the United States.

More than 200,000 team members are employed by independent owner-operators in more than 3,000 restaurants across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. In 2023, the company shared plans to expand by 2030 into Europe and Asia.

Another Area Chick-fil-A In The Works After Long Wait For The Willows

The Concord Chick-fil-A has been in the works for several years. In 2019, the company sought permission to develop a franchise-operated restaurant with drive-thru service at 1400 Willow Pass Road, the former site of Lin's Buffet Chinese restaurant.

Before that, Chick-fil-A explored building a restaurant at 1225 Willow Pass Road —the former Elephant Bar restaurant—and at 1353 Willow Pass Road, which later became Gen Korean BBQ House.

The first two sites called for rezoning and city staff feared potential effects on traffic, circulation and economic development. The city had similar concerns with the former Lin's Buffet site, which was already zoned for fast food but not for drive-thru windows.

A city staff report said Chick-fil-A was encouraged to explore other areas of Concord but Chick-fil-A maintained it wanted to build near Interstate Highway 680.

In April 2022, Chick-fil-A sought approval for the current site at 1981 Diamond Blvd. It required demolishing the former Claim Jumper building.

Construction on the new Concord Chick-fil-A began Sept. 1, 2023.

A second Chick-fil-A for Walnut Creek was approved in May and a company spokesperson confirmed Tuesday it was still in the works.

"It’s our pleasure to confirm we will be opening a new Chick-fil-A restaurant in Walnut Creek," a Chick-fil-A spokesperson told Patch on Tuesday. "We look forward to positively impacting the Walnut Creek community and serving all of our Guests in the Bay Area delicious food in an environment of genuine hospitality."

The new restaurant will be at 2290 Oak Grove Road at the Citrus Marketplace Shopping Center in Walnut Creek. The new 5,300-square-foot fast-food restaurant replaces a vacant 8,200-square-foot building at the shopping center, which has seen several vacancies in recent years. It will not have a drive-thru, which is unusual for the chain. Walnut Creek City Council made the difficult decision based on an appeal by a resident of the nearby Woodlands neighborhood.

The resident cited issues with the existing Walnut Creek Chick-fil-A along North Main Street south of Geary Boulevard. One of the main concerns was that the drive-thru line often queues up onto North Main Street, impacting traffic for neighborhood residents. The City Council and Chick-fil-A agreed to move forward without a drive-thru, although Chick-fil-A has not given a date for when the new Walnut Creek location will open.

For now, locals can adjust to having a Chick-fil-A in Concord. To stay updated on happenings at the new Chick-fil-A at The Willows, fans can like and follow it on Facebook and Instagram.