Dozens of customers crowded against the walls of Iowa’s first Chicken Salad Chick, downloading the restaurant’s app for in-store discounts and rewards.
Coralville officially welcomed Chicken Salad Chick to its restaurant scene Wednesday morning. The restaurant held a grand opening ceremony at the new location at 2510 Corridor Way.
While the grand opening officially started at 10:30 a.m., many customers claimed their spots in line beforehand to be among the first 100 to receive a free chicken salad every month for this year. The very first customer, who received an even better deal of a free chicken salad every week, arrived at the not-so-bright and early time of 5:30 a.m.
Chicken Salad Chick’s Chief Marketing Officer Tom Carr explained the unique concept of the restaurant.
“We sell these delicious chicken salads, all made from scratch — 13 different varieties of chicken salad. Who knew there were that many chicken salads you can make?” he said.
He voiced his excitement to hear feedback on various flavors, such as the spicy buffalo wing chicken salad, the fruity and nutty varieties, and savory flavors like the bacon, cheddar, and ranch chicken salad.
Carr said there are family roots throughout each Chicken Salad Chick.
“We’re the Chicken Salad Chick, so each flavor is named after somebody who was really helpful to the family who started Chicken Salad Chick originally — sisters and cousins and best friends. And it’s a way for us to honor those people as we move forward building this brand long-term,” he said.
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Carr said this was their first location in Iowa and their 20th state where they have a Chicken Salad Chick. The chain has over 280 across the country.
“We started down in Alabama, originally. We have a lot of restaurants down in the southeast, so we’re so excited to be expanding here in the Midwest and, finally, in the state of Iowa,” he said.
He said the local owners of the new restaurant, Pat and Melissa Ingle, discovered Chicken Salad Chick and “fell in love” with all the national restaurant had to offer. The couple had previous experience managing businesses, such as the nearby Nothing Bundt Cakes, and decided to advocate for a Chicken Salad Chick to be built in Coralville.
“They’ve grown up here,” Carr said. “They’re part of our community here, and we love to get involved in local community events, charities. We have many times throughout the year where we actually raise money for really big causes” such as cancer research.
Carr was optimistic for the prospects of future projects in Iowa, particularly around the densely student-populated streets of Iowa City.
“We would love to get closer to Iowa City,” he said. “This family is focused on this Coralville restaurant, but there will be opportunities for other folks to come in, too, if they were interested to open a restaurant.”