Brownwood News – The Early Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting to celebrate the newly improved drive thru system at the Heartland Mall Chick-fil-A on Monday, July 2nd. The ribbon cutting was held around the same time as the grand opening for the new Hobby Lobby in the mall on Early Boulevard.

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The revamped Chick-Fil-A drive-thru system utilizes a reversed direction of the drive-thru to improve traffic flow in the mall parking lot. A wireless tablet system is used to take orders and decrease wait time. From the very first day of operation the new system broke a store record for sales, according to Heartland Mall Chick-Fil-A Operator Luke Henson.

Henson explained his desire to better serve the community with the improved drive thru system. It’s a sentiment that mirrors the feelings of the chain’s founder, S. Truett Cathy.

“We should be about more than just selling chicken. We should be a part of our customers’ lives and the communities in which we serve,” Cathy once said.

Truett Cathy has been recognized as an early pioneer of today’s “food court” concept. Known for its mall/shopping center partnership, Chick-fil-A’s first restaurant was located in Atlanta’s Greenbriar Mall in 1967. The original restaurant, named the Dwarf Grill, had opened three years prior. It was in that small stand alone location Cathy created the signature chicken sandwich.

To see their menu, visit chick-fil-a.com