Quick service restaurant Chick-fil-A is aggressively expanding its footprint in Canada with plans to roll out up to 20 restaurants in Alberta by 2030.
Initially, three restaurants will open at West Edmonton Mall by late summer followed by locations in Calgary and South Edmonton Common. They will be the first to open outside of Ontario since the brand began in Canada at Yonge and Bloor in Toronto in 2019.
The West Edmonton Mall location will be in the Food Court by the World Waterpark. The Calgary location is along the busy Macleod Trail S.W. corridor.
Currently, there are 13 locations in Canada, all in Ontario. The company is also expanding into Ottawa later this summer.
“Alberta has an incredible growth story and is an exciting place for us to continue our expansion in Canada,” said Paul Trotti, VP, International, Chick-fil-A, Inc., adding that each restaurant in Alberta will be led by an entrepreneur, an independent local owner/operator.
As part of the expansion in Alberta, the entrepreneurs who will be local Chick-fil-A Owners-Operators are expected to hire approximately 80-120 additional employees at each new location.
“We’re continuing to evaluate a lot of opportunities (in Alberta),” said Trotti. “Specifically, there’s great opportunities around Edmonton and Calgary. At this point, we’ve settled in on these first three because the site selection is so important for us. We won’t pick a site where we feel like we can’t give a great opportunity to an operator and have customers that we want to serve in a great density but at this point we’ve just announced those three.”
In the past, the brand did have a location in the Calgary International Airport which eventually closed. A location like that is not part of the owner/operator model.
“We really feel like we get a chance to bring the full expression of the brand to Alberta through the owner/operator restaurants that we’ll bring to these three Alberta locations . . . We feel like this is truly the first time that they will get to experience not only the great food that we’ll serve but also the genuine hospitality that we hope differentiates us in the marketplace.”
Trotti said the company has been excited about the Ontario market and feels it’s experienced great growth there. Alberta presented several factors that were appealing for expansion including strong population growth and continued future population growth, a strong economy, attainable homeownership, and a great quality of life.
“Chick-fil-A’s expansion into Alberta will have a positive impact on our economy in the region by creating jobs and new entrepreneurial opportunities throughout the province,” said Rick Christiaanse, CEO of Invest Alberta, in a statement. “Alberta is one of the best places in Canada to do business. We have a talented workforce filled with big thinkers across many different industries. Chick-fil-A is a perfect fit for our rapidly growing and diverse region.”
“Alberta’s government has created an investment-friendly environment where companies like Chick-fil-A continue to feel confident about expanding their business,” said Matt Jones, Minister of Jobs, Economy and Trade, in a statement. “With rapid growth and low taxes, our province is an ideal location to establish new stores. Alberta’s growing, young and diverse population means Chick-fil-A will have the future employees and customers they need to succeed. I am pleased to welcome Chick-fil-A to Alberta, and I am encouraged by their commitment to give back to our local communities to reduce hunger and food waste.”
Trotti said the brand likes to be in power centres and in high traffic locations where customers live, work and play. He said about 5,000 square feet is the average for the company’s freestanding locations and about 3,500 square feet for mall locations. Trotti said the company is looking at expanding into other Canadian provinces.
Part of Chick-fil-A’s operation is community involvement:
- Every time a Chick-fil-A restaurant opens, $25,000 USD ($33,623 CAD) is donated by Chick-fil-A, Inc. to Second Harvest, Canada’s largest food rescue organization, to support local non-profit organizations in the area to help reduce hunger and food waste. So far, Chick-fil-A has donated over $275,000 USD ($369,853 CAD) to local Canadian organizations in celebration of restaurant openings. That tradition will continue in Alberta;
- Since the beginning of 2020, Chick-fil-A has donated more than $1 million USD ($1.3 million CAD) to support Second Harvest’s food rescue programs that have helped provide over 2.8 million meals worth of surplus food for people in need and supported the national expansion of Second Harvest’s food rescue app to 900 communities across Canada;
- Participating Chick-fil-A restaurants donate surplus food to local shelters, soup kitchens and charities through the Chick-fil-A Shared Table™ program, which has resulted in ingredients for over 80,000 meals being donated by Chick-fil-A restaurants in Canada, with the number growing each day;
- Canadian non-profits like East York Meals on Wheels, Yonge Street Mission, Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada and Living Lakes Canada have collectively received $475,000 USD ($638,837 CAD) from the Chick-fil-A True Inspiration Awards™, annual grants given to organizations that make an impact by Caring for People, Caring for Others through Food, Caring for Our Communities and Caring for Our Planet – falling within Chick-fil-A’s corporate social responsibility pillars, which help guide overall giving efforts; and
- Chick-fil-A has awarded nearly $40,000 USD ($53,796 CAD) in scholarships since 2020 to 37 Canadian Team Members to support their goals of pursuing post-secondary education.
Chick-fil-A, Inc. is the third largest quick-service restaurant in the United States and has more than 3,000 restaurants across the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
