Our governor lifted restrictions and the CFA's are still drive through only.

It cost me more in fuel waiting in line than the meal.

I've only been once this year because of it.

NONE yet here in Hampton Roads / Tidewater are of Virginia that I have seen. God Bless !!!

The one I frequent here in the middle of SC told me it was a "staffing issue" when I asked when inside dining would be back the other day...

Never been to a chick fillet, so I have no idea. The closest one to me is almost an hour away.

After this fiasco, most major restaurants are looking to get away from the current model and focus more on the drive thru aspect.

Smaller buildings, less staff, less inside seating, more drive thru capacity, lower expenses.

This won't stop at restaurants. Many other businesses have found similar concepts will work better for them. More people working at home, less leased space. Banks around here tend to be mostly fine conducting the majority of their business as drive thru only.

Nope, but they have fast turn over in the drive though down to a science. Fast as any other chain, with 5x the volume (or more).

Is it really less staff? It appears their volume has stayed the same yet they're still as quick. I suspect the staff that was working the dining room were reassigned to help expedite the drive through process.

Wondering if we have a Chick Fil A franchisee here on the forum or know someone who is a franchisee.

Last time I bought food from them, I tried their on-line app. Order, pay with a credit card.

I got to the location, flagged down one of the outside people, showed her the receipt for the order on my phone.

She spoke with somebody inside via her radio headset, told me that I could either get in the drive-through line and pick it up that way (nope, line was too long) or park and go inside to grab it.

I went for option B.

The bad news: you have to break through the line of vehicles in the approach to the drive-through, in order to get to the handicapped parking slots.

The good news: I went inside, held up my phone so the counter person could see my pre-paid order, she picked up a bag with my name on it. No waiting, immediate service.

Back to the original question for this thread: You can go inside for take-out service, but the seating area is still closed, you can't eat there.

As of two days ago that would be a I don"t think so. Still 3 lanes of drive thru snaking around building and so many cars in parking slots they could not put a pregnant roller skate in there. Also a rush times can be backed up in the street blocking one lane of traffic travel for 100yards or more just trying to get off street and get in line. Personally the food was ok for fast food but it is not a top priority stop location. Refuse to sit in that long of a waiting line for fast food which by the time you get it is cold and soggy........................ ............... drill sgt.

The one I used to go to in San Marcos on I-35 shows dine-in is open. I’m still boycotting them so open or closed, it doesn’t matter to me.

Also, other than the boycott, I slowed down my visits because it was costing too much for the little I got. I’d get two chicken wraps, a soup and a drink for twice the price it should have been. I was happy with the food, though...no problems there.

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:
After this fiasco, most major restaurants are looking to get away from the current model

Maybe where you are. Around here the restaurants are full as far as they can be which is now 75% as per King Wolf of The People’s Republik of Pennsylvania.

It’s just annoying to me when I want to go sit and have a fresh CFA chicken sandwich and not a half cold, soggy one.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:
After this fiasco, most major restaurants are looking to get away from the current model

Maybe where you are. Around here the restaurants are full as far as they can be which is now 75% as per King Wolf of The People’s Republik of Pennsylvania.

It’s just annoying to me when I want to go sit and have a fresh CFA chicken sandwich and not a half cold, soggy one.

Here as well, they're all opening up dining rooms.

That's good, as I don't want to eat in my car and I don't want to take food home, warm it up and eat it. If they don't have an open dining room, I'll go elsewhere.

Yup.

quote:

Maybe where you are.

No, all over the world. All of the big players have taken notes and are adjusting their future plans:

quote:

In November 2020 McDonald’s unveiled a new growth strategy during a presentation to investors. The main message was that future McDonald’s restaurants are going to be a lot different as the company will invest heavily in what it calls the three D’s: Digital, Delivery and Drive Thru. McDonald’s will accelerate technology innovation so its 65 million daily customers will experience “a fast, easy experience, whether at one of our 25,000 and growing Drive Thrus, through McDelivery, dine-in or takeaway.”

The shift is being made partly as a result of lessons learned during the coronovirus pandemic.

I have been out to eat three times in 2020 and none this year. I do dislike grocery shopping. I have not eaten fast food in ten years. If you want to eat fast food that is fine with me.

I do enjoy fine dining and will gladly pay for an upscale meal once things settle down.

quote:

a1abdj

I perceive you are near St. Louis, Missouri. I have not seen any installations similar to what you pictured in the Dallas area.

My nearby CFA is still listed on its web site as "Closed for Renovation". I'm hoping that changes soon.

flashguy

Both locations in Cedar Rapids, IA are still drive thru.

Has anyone else noticed a decrease in quality of the meat in the sandwiches? Nuggets still seem okay but the larger pieces in the sandwiches are generally tough and grissely most of the time, like they have gone to using the growth hormone produced chickens..

Ours is still drive through only. I'm lucky in that my CFA is only about 1.5 miles away so we can get home and have it still be hot. I do agree, however, that it would be better if the inside were open.

Not in my part of Maryland.

quote:

I perceive you are near St. Louis, Missouri. I have not seen any installations similar to what you pictured in the Dallas area.

These are their new concepts moving forward. The old locations should continue to be that way for some time.

I completely get it. Just before Wuhan I was getting ready to open a local pizza place. We had just finished negotiating the lease, and the landlord's attorney was in the process of redrafting it with revisions when they started closing all of the restaurants.

No way would I put that kind of money into a place in the same fashion today. You have to focus on drive thru, carry out, curbside, and delivery in the event the government snaps their fingers again, and none of those things require large indoor areas for seating. Even pizza places like the one I was going to open are putting in drive thru windows.