C
Chick-fil-A a favorite among
chicken lovers
hick-fil-A has had a presence in Milledgeville since it was built in 1999, and
franchise owner Curt Flournoy has seen it change since purchasing the local
store in 2008.
“We had a month-long redesign in which we added a duel point order-taking
drive-thru, what some people call a multi-lane drive-thru,” Flournoy says. “We
added a new mid-line kitchen, which is a test kitchen for Chick-fil-A, and reformat-
ted the dining room with an updated look and more open build.”
Flournoy says the community response to the changes has been excellent so far.
“The response has been very good,” Flournoy says. “We’ve had an increase in
business and have seen a lot of customer interaction because of it.”
Flournoy has been involved with Chick-fil-A since he was 16 years old; he started
as a cook in his hometown and worked his way up through management.
“It was my first job. I had friends who worked at Chick-fil-A who encouraged
me to apply, so I did, and I started working there at 16 as a cook,” Flournoy says.
“I worked my way up into management and store management. I’m a graduate of
GCSU and actually worked at this store as the general manager while in college.”
While Flournoy says he has had other jobs, he continued to work at Chick-fil-A,
sometimes holding down two jobs while still attending classes. Although he now
owns the local store, he continues to work in the store every day. He works wher-
ever he is needed most in the store, but he does have his favorite jobs.
“I really enjoy being with the customers when I can,” Flournoy says. “Right now
my focus is on the kitchen because it is a test kitchen for Chick-fil-A, so I’m helping
improve processes and speeds — anything I can help them improve on. It’s been
great so far. It’s allowed us to serve guests a lot faster and allowed us to serve more
guests.”
Chick-fil-A is well known as an organization that is involved in many aspects of
community service, and Flournoy’s store is no different.
“Each operator decides what they want to do,” Flournoy says. “Where I grew up,
Chick-fil-A was very involved in the community, so it’s something I wanted to do.
We’re very community-minded and do anything we can to make this a place for
families to come and people to relax and feel comfortable.”
Flournoy says his favorite giving projects are the ones that emphasize family,
such as the daddy-daughter and mother-son date nights. However, the store has
done spirit night for all of the schools and often donates food and coupons to the
schools in order to help or encourage them and the students.
Flournoy says he looks specifically at the organizations applying for a fundraiser
to be community-oriented. While the store does fundraisers for patients,
he says the money must be donated to a
foundation rather than the individual.
“Milledgeville is our home — it’s been
great to me and my family. We really en-
joy the community,” Flournoy says. “We
love being here and we love being a part
of it.”
Milledgeville Chick-fil-A is located at
1730 N. Columbia St. Open from 6:30
a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Satur-
day, the store can be reached in several
ways: Call at 478-451-4830, visit www.
facebook.com/cfamilledgeville or www.
cfarestaurant.com/milledgeville/home,
follow it on Twitter at twitter.com/cfam-
ville on Instagram at cfamville.
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