ZANESVILLE, Ohio — Zanesville’s first Chick-fil-A opens at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 5, on Maple Avenue, and Zanesville police say officers will be on hand to keep traffic moving if opening-day lines spill onto one of the city’s busiest commercial corridors. The restaurant, at 3541 Maple Ave., is marking its debut with a “Moove-In Party” and a free-food offer for customers who show up in cow-themed attire.
Visitors wearing cow-related clothing or accessories will receive one free entrée or kid’s meal during the opening celebration, according to reporting by the Zanesville Times Recorder. The promotion is a nod to the chain’s long-running cow mascot campaign, and police expect it — along with curiosity about a brand new to the city — to draw a larger-than-normal breakfast and lunch crowd on the first day.
The Zanesville Police Department has an organized strategy for higher traffic levels, which will include directing patrons toward the western side of the business, Commander Derek Shilling told the Zanesville Times Recorder. Officers will assist with traffic flow to help keep Maple Avenue moving while cars enter and leave the restaurant, a stretch that already serves heavy retail traffic through the north side of the city.
The new restaurant is owned and operated by Preston Tippett and has brought around 100 new part-time and full-time jobs to Zanesville, Chick-fil-A told the Zanesville Times Recorder on Oct. 29. For a city the size of Zanesville, a single opening of that scale is a noticeable addition to the local service-sector workforce, with positions spanning kitchen, counter and drive-thru operations.
Construction on the approximately 5,200-square-foot building started in May, near Roosters and Hobby Lobby on Maple Avenue, according to the Zanesville Times Recorder. The site places the restaurant in the middle of Zanesville’s main shopping district, alongside other national chains and big-box stores that draw shoppers from across Muskingum County and neighboring counties in southeast Ohio.
The Zanesville location joins more than 3,000 Chick-fil-A restaurants worldwide, but it is the first within the city itself, ending a long run in which local fans of the chain had to drive to other Ohio communities for the menu. That first-in-town status is a big part of why police are planning for a surge rather than treating Wednesday as a routine opening.
The restaurant will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, following the chain’s standard practice of closing on Sundays. Drivers on Maple Avenue on Wednesday should allow extra time, watch for officers directing traffic near 3541 Maple Ave., and follow the western-side entry pattern police have set out. After opening day, hours and traffic are expected to settle into a normal pattern as the restaurant begins its first full week in Zanesville.
Photo: Paul Sableman, CC BY