Eight years after first arriving in Pleasanton, Chick-fil-A has opened a second location in this East Bay city — just a mile south of its busy restaurant near Interstate 580.
Dine-in and takeout service started today at the Hacienda Business Park in a former Sweet Tomatoes space. The new location is the 22nd in the greater Bay Area serving the Atlanta-based chain’s signature chicken sandwiches.
Aaron Clifford, the owner-operator of this and the original location in Pleasanton, is a California native who has been with the company for 25 years. He was raised in Watsonville on a strawberry farm, then moved with his family to Georgia, where he first discovered Chick-fil-A — long before the restaurant expanded to this state.
Between the two locations, he will employ 170 full- and part-time employees.
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The opening comes just a few weeks after Chick-fil-A rolled back its pledge to serve only antibiotic-free chicken. “To maintain supply of the high-quality chicken you expect from us,” the company statement said, “Chick-fil-A will shift from No Antibiotics Ever (NAE) to No Antibiotics Important To Human Medicine (NAIHM) starting in the Spring of 2024.” According to NBC News, many chicken providers say the avian flu that has decimated poultry populations has forced them to turn again to antibiotics in limited cases.
As with at other Chick-fil-A locations, the chain’s charitable giving policy will focus on contributions to nonprofits that work in the areas of education, homelessness and hunger. For each new local restaurant opening, Chick-fil-A donates $25,000 to Feeding America, with the funds being distributed in the Bay Area.
Clifford also has pledged to redirect surplus food to local soup kitchens, shelters and food banks as part of the company’s Shared Table program. In addition, this location will give free entrees for a year to 100 local heroes making a difference in the Pleasanton area.
Details: Open from 6:30 to 10 a.m. Monday-Saturday (closed Sunday) at 4501 Hopyard Road; www.chick-fil-a.com
