In fall 2014, a new establishment will be welcomed to campus. It has already created a lot of buzz, including a tweet from SGA President Harrison Mills, who proclaimed his excitement about the restaurant coming to campus.
"I know students will enjoy this dining venue," Mills said.
Director of Campus Dining Glenn Loughridge credited Mills' platform as part of the reason Chicken Salad Chick is coming to campus.
"Student feedback, especially from Harrison - it was one of his platforms last year - so he was instrumental in getting us moving forward," Loughridge said.
According to Loughridge, the new on-campus restaurant will be placed in a new expansion attached to the Foy Dining Hall.
With the new addition, campus dining hopes to give students more options.
"It's a healthier option and that is something that we've had a lot of student feedback on, which is to have a healthier, lighter option on campus," Loughridge said.
The Chicken Salad Chick franchise has been in Auburn for six years and has more than 60 restaurants around the Southeast, according to their website.
"I am excited to see a new place open up on campus," said Kevin McCulloch, freshman in mechanical engineering. "I can try something new and hopefully will come back a lot."
The company was founded by 1999 Auburn grad Stacy Brown. Since the first store opened, the franchise has opened stores across the South every year. Although the restaurant seems to be growing every year, the owners stuck to their Auburn roots and established the headquarters in Auburn.
"I am interested to see what the restaurant has to offer that will be different from other restaurants on campus," said Chris Barnes, freshman in computer science.
The campus dining staff shows promise by adding Chicken Salad Chick along with brand name restaurants on campus such as Chick-fil-A and Papa John's.
"We are expecting it to be very successful," Loughridge said. "This is an Auburn brand, these are Auburn folks that created a restaurant. They love this place."
Mills said the restaurant will be a quality dining experience for students and will give students the chance to enjoy a popular local restaurant on campus.
For the future, the restaurant hopes to become more than just a dining venue for students to enjoy during the school year. According to Loughridge, the plan for the restaurant is to make it available for football game days, which will launch the brand even further for football seasons to come and allow more people to enjoy what Chicken Salad Chick has to offer.
"There will be an opportunity for some catering out there for game day tents and people who want to have something to walk to their tailgate with," Loughridge said.
According to Loughridge, Chicken Salad Chick will open in November, with construction slated to start soon. Other plans for the University students can look forward to include a Starbucks that will replace Lowder Lounge and provide a study space for students in Lowder.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
