Mark Whiteman started working for Chick-fil-A while he was in high school and college in Charleston, West Virginia.
“That’s where I met my wife,” he said.
In 2002, he owned the Chick-fil-A in Towne Square Mall until it closed five years later.
Then Whiteman moved to Evansville and operated the stores in downtown and Eastland Mall.
He returned to Owensboro in 2009, to open the restaurant on Frederica Street.
And at 6:30 a.m. Friday, Whiteman will open the new Chick-fil-A in front of Walmart on Kentucky 54.
Tuesday, the restaurant had its ribbon cutting.
Whiteman said he isn’t sure how long he’s been trying to get a second restaurant in town.
But it’s been awhile, he said.
The company first announced plans for the new restaurant in late 2021.
It will have 120 full- and part-time jobs — about the same as the one on Frederica Street.
That makes Chick-fil-A one of the largest employers in town.
Whiteman said jobs start at $15 an hour.
That helps keep turnover down, he said.
“We try to help our team members,” Whiteman said. “We’re very thankful for them.”
The restaurant will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
All Chick-fil-A’s are closed on Sunday.
The chain said it donated $25,000 to Feeding America in honor of the new restaurant.
It said both local restaurants will participate in the Chick-fil-A Shared Table program, an initiative that redirects surplus food from the restaurant to local soup kitchens, shelters, food banks and nonprofits in need.
The chain added that it will recognize 100 local heroes making an impact in the Owensboro area by providing them with free Chick-fil-A entrées for a year.
Chick-fil-A is the third largest quick-service restaurant company in the United States, with more than 200,000 team members in more than 3,000 restaurants