Chick-Fil-A Opens This Week In Framingham

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. - Clinton native Mark Parker is returning to his family’s roots of serving the local MetroWest communities but this time as the franchise/owner of Framingham’s first Chick-fil-A restaurant.

The restaurant plans a grand opening on Feb. 18 in Framingham. It is located in Shoppers World, next to the Kohl’s & Pier1 Imports.

There are VIP and media events, prior to the grand opening, as early as Monday, Feb. 15.

Framingham Patch was the first media outlet to report the chain restaurant wanted to open a drive-thru location off Route 30 in Framingham back in 2014.

Construction began last summer.

When Chick-fil-A opens a restaurant, the first 100 people receive a prize of one Chick-fil-A Meal per week for a year. Click here for more details.

Parker once again will be working with cows, literally as Chick-fil-A’s award-winning advertising campaign uses cows, who are part of the hide preservation society, to encourage others to Eat Mor Chicken.

As a youth and until he started college, Parker worked at his family’s dairy business -- Parker’s Dairy which was started by his great grandfather.

The Parker family provided milk and other dairy products to homes, schools and businesses in the Metro West area and beyond including Framingham, Sudbury, Wayland, Holliston, Ashland and Marlboro.

Even the site of the new Chick-fil-A location is nostalgic for Parker who as a youth spent many hours with friends and family frequenting the area around Shoppers World.

After earning a bachelor’s in business administration, Parker took a job with FedEx Express. The hard work and values he learned as a youth from working in his family business helped him to quickly excel in his 24-year career with the company. He was recognized with several management and leadership awards including being named a three-time winner of the FedEx 5 Star Award – the company’s most prestigious award for balanced leadership success.

Before becoming a Chick-fil-A Operator, Parker served as managing director responsible for leading all business functions of 21 FedEx locations and their nearly 2,000 employees and senior leadership and management teams in the states of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and Vermont.

Parker first encountered Chick-fil-A while traveling in Dallas with FedEx. Upon learning more about the company, he found many parallels to his own family’s four-generation business – providing customers with premium ingredients and the highest of customer service. Upon learning about the opening in Framingham, he decided to pursue the opportunity so he could return to his passion of servicing the communities of Metro West.

“I’m excited about the great opportunity I have to be the first to introduce Chick-fil-A’s remarkable food, service and community support to my hometown area,” said Parker, whose entire family, along with his wife Jamie’s family, live within 15 minutes of the restaurant. “I feel like I have been groomed my whole life for this opportunity to establish my own Chick-fil-A legacy and reputation of providing a remarkable experience every day, to every guest who walks through our doors with an atmosphere of acceptance for all in our community.”

Parker is planning to hire more than 100 full-time and part-time positions at his restaurant located in the Golden Triangle retail area at 1 Worcester Road. Benefits include scholarships for continuing education, Sundays off and opportunities for career advancement. Applications are available in person or online.

“Hiring a great team is the key to the continued success of Chick-fil-A,” said Parker. “These team members will play a crucial role in growing our business and helping to provide a remarkable experience to our guests every day.”

“I want our team members to consider the restaurant as their second home,” said Parker. “A place where they want to hang out even when they aren’t working because of their strong relationships not only amongst their team but also with me from daily working along-the-side of each other serving our community, just as my father and his father and his father did while running our family business.”