The day has finally come. The new Chick-fil-A in Covington is scheduled to open this week.
Opening day festivities begin at 6 a.m. Wednesday, April 11, and will be followed by a ribbon cutting at 9 a.m. Thursday, April 12. Chick-fil-A will be open for business beginning at 6:30 a.m. Thursday.
To kick off festivities, a family friendly overnight camp-out will take place in the parking lot 24 hours before the store officially opens.
On Wednesday morning patrons can begin lining up as part of Chick-fil-A’s “First 100” promotion.
The first 100 adults in line will win free Chick-fil-A meals for a year. To qualify, visit https://thechickenwire.chick-f
A digital offer card will be loaded with a one supply of free meals (52 meals with each consisting of a Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich, medium waffle potato fries and a medium beverage) will be handed out around 5:45 a.m. Thursday.
Attendees are also encouraged to bring new or gently used children’s books to benefit MultiCare Covington Medical Center. The participant that brings the most books will receive a prize.
The Covington location is 4,600 square feet and features a two-story indoor play area for children and a dual-order drive-thru. The restaurant will be open Mondays through Saturdays from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. All Chick-fil-A locations are closed on Sundays.
Traffic Impact
To prepare for the potential increase in traffic, the city of Covington has implemented a detailed traffic plan to ensure the day of the opening and days to follow go smoothly.
The city researched what traffic was like at the Chick-fil-A locations in Bellevue, Lynnwood and Tacoma to prepare for the opening.
Covington officials predict that there might not be as much traffic in Covington as there was in the other cities because Covington is a smaller city, is less regional and has less population.
The Covington location will also have more parking stalls than the other locations, making access to the restaurant more accessible.
Access to and from Chick-fil-A will be provided by shared driveways on Southeast 272nd Street and 174th Place Southeast and Southeast 270th Street. The primary access is expected to be the existing driveways on Southeast 272nd Street and Southeast 270th Street.
According to a traffic report by the city, the driveways listed above are part of proposed measures to help manage the flow of traffic. The measures were reviewed and approved by adjacent retailers including Walmart, Bridgestone and Arco, the report stated.
Karla Slate, communications for Covington, said Chick-fil-A made an agreement with the Walmart to utilize part of their parking lot to stack cars waiting for the drive-thru.
She said Chick-fil-A is also hiring police officers to direct traffic from on the day of the grand opening until traffic dies down in the weeks after, which will be evaluated by the city every 30 days.
Slate said there will be restricted entrances to the new restaurant.
“Cars will not be able to enter the Chick fil-A parking lot from Southeast 272nd Street, that access will serve as an exit only for cars leaving the parking lot,” she said. “Access to enter the parking lot will be available only from behind Chick fil-A off of Southeast 270th Street. This will help prevent back ups on Southeast 272nd Street and will also stay restricted for (at least) the first 30 days.”
There will be signs and police officers to direct traffic in the right direction.
