Hey Chick-fil-A lovers, the Bluffton restaurant is open again after renovations
Chick-fil-A fans in Bluffton can rejoice. The restaurant that has been closed for renovations reopened Thursday.
Owner Keith Clark, who lives in Jasper County, said the morning of opening day was “a little crazy.”
They weren’t sure if they’d be able to open because of a electrical issues.
“I wasn’t going to reopen and not have our peach milkshake because everyone’s been waiting for it,” Clark laughed. “But right around 10:30 a.m., we got the ice cream machine running and fryers warmed up so we went ahead and opened up.”
As part of the remodel, a door has replaced the old drive-thru window along with an expansion of the cockpit area. Now the drive-thru has its own ice machine and tea and coffee brewers to keep things moving quickly, Clark said.
The entire kitchen was also ripped out and expanded, giving cooks more room to work and more equipment, like fryers, to work with.
“We’re just trying to increase capacity,” Clark said.
Bluffton wasted no time rushing to get their chicken sandwiches and waffle fries as news of the reopening spread fast on social media.
“Our long excruciating nightmare is over!,” one person posted in a popular Bluffton Facebook group alerting everyone about the reopening.
His post had more than 250 likes and almost 100 comments.
“Hallelujah,” a couple people responded.
“That is the best news to this pregnant woman who’s been wanting Chick-fil-A for weeks now! Thanks for the update,” another person commented.
Others weren’t all too thrilled about the “traffic jams” that would return with the drive-thru line already being backed up from the parking lot to the main road a few times on Thursday.
Some said they were in and out of the line in a few minutes.
The restaurant, located at 9 Malphrus Road along U.S. 278, closed May 13 and was expected to be closed for about six weeks, according to posts on its Facebook page at the time.
Delays in the work kept the restaurant closed for nearly double that estimate.
As of now, the dining room and curbside pickup orders are closed so drive-thru is the only option for chicken-hungry customers. Clark said he wanted his team to get used to the new workspace and deliver the great drive-thru service Chick-fil-A is known for before “adding another layer” of serving guests in the dining room.
He said indoor dining would likely return in the near future.
“We’re so thankful we had the turnout we had,” Clark said. “It was totally unannounced because day to day we weren’t sure of what was going to happen. Then to open and all the sudden we start seeing other people’s Facebook posts and Instagram posts and the way social media spread. We appreciate our people.”
The popular fast-food restaurant closed for renovations from mid-July to early September in 2018. At that time, the kitchen, dining room and play area were updated to a more modern, functional style. At the same time, the drive-thru was widened to two lanes and a covered awning was added.
Chick-fil-A in Beaufort, located at 2405 Boundary St., underwent renovations at the end of last year.
This story was originally published August 6, 2021 at 9:26 AM.
