The ultimate test of fast food physics is coming in Miami.
Chick-fil-A is expanding its presence in the Sunshine State with a new delivery-only “ghost kitchen” in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood, marking a strategic move to circumvent the real estate constraints of traditional restaurants.
Operating within the CloudKitchens network, the location is the privately held fast food giant’s first delivery-only kitchen in Florida and only the sixth nationally, allowing the company to maximize kitchen capacity and meet demand without the overhead of a traditional dining room.
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The restaurant is located at 1900 NE Miami Court and will fulfill orders primarily through third-party delivery platforms, according to a Chick-fil-A Press Release. It’s open Monday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to midnight, which is two hours later than Chick-fil-A’s usual restaurant or drive-thru closing time.
Employees prepare fried chicken sandwiches for guests during an event preceding the grand opening of a Chick-fil-A restaurant in New York. (Getty Images)
The new Wynwood location is expected to create approximately 30 local jobs, providing hands-on training, mentoring and competitive benefits.
“We know how important fast, reliable delivery is to Wynwood, and we want to meet the community where they are while maintaining our hospitality,” owner-operator Thomas Overby said in the release.
“Being born and raised in Miami, serving this community is very special to me. Our new delivery kitchen location gives us the opportunity to serve the Wynwood community in a way that works best for them and gives me the privilege of deepening my connection to my hometown,” he continued.
While traditional restaurants face constraints such as seating capacity, kitchen square footage and limited hours, a delivery-only kitchen allows the brand to serve a broader customer base and operate at full capacity without paying for prime commercial real estate or dining room maintenance.
Partnering with established kitchen infrastructure networks like CloudKitchens allows the company to quickly deploy its delivery framework in high-density urban areas like Miami.
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Unlike its publicly traded competitors, Chick-fil-A is a privately held company with no public shareholders and is the third largest quick-service restaurant in America. The slow unfolding of its “ghost kitchen” This model mirrors similar smaller-scale moves Chick-fil-A has made in recent years, such as opening five stores during its first expansion in England and just one in Singapore – a city of more than 6 million people.
Chick-fil-A’s five other delivery-only locations operate in College Park, Maryland; Nashville, Tenn.; Louisville, Kentucky; Boston, Mass.; and Northern California.
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