Yum! A new Chick-fil-A restaurant began serving the San Diego community on Thursday, March 6, at Liberty Station.
It is being led by Matt Hughes, who was selected as the independent franchised local owner-operator by the company.
Located at 2401 Truxtun Road, Suite 102, Chick-fil-A Liberty Station will be open for dine-in, carry-out, curbside pick-up, and delivery from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
The Liberty Station restaurant joins over 20 other Chick-fil-A restaurants serving the wider San Diego market.
Introducing Chick-fil-A to San Diego
Growing up in metro Atlanta, Hughes was inspired by Chick-fil-A’s delicious food and renowned hospitality, leading him to begin his career as a Team Member in high school. Realizing his desire to build a long-term career with Chick-fil-A, Hughes joined the Chick-fil-A® Leadership Development Program, where he supported several restaurant openings on the West Coast. This invaluable experience sparked his passion for the San Diego community, and he was selected as the local Owner-Operator of San Diego’s first Chick-fil-A restaurant in 2006, Chick-fil-A Sports Arena, which he will continue to operate. Now, for nearly 20 years, Hughes, his wife Jessica, and their four children have proudly called San Diego home.
Hughes embraced the unique opportunity to introduce San Diego to Chick-fil-A as a welcoming environment for team members and guests. His commitment to fostering leadership and personal growth has been evident, with three of his former team members going on to become local owner-operators of other Chick-fil-A restaurants in the San Diego community.
“The vision for our new restaurant is to provide a meaningful employment experience and unmatched care for our community, both within our four walls and beyond,” Hughes said. “We find joy in going the extra mile to serve the San Diego community, and I’m excited and humbled to expand this vision and the opportunities we can provide with Chick-fil-A Liberty Station.”
Chick-fil-A’s franchise model is essential to how the restaurant serves others. Most Chick-fil-A restaurants are owned and operated by a single individual, which means Chick-fil-A’s local owner-operators are small business owners, not passive investors, who work in their restaurants side by side with their team members each day.
In San Diego, Hughes will be responsible for all day-to-day activities of the business, including training and hiring team members, serving guests, cultivating relationships with local organizations and businesses, and tailoring philanthropic efforts to meet the San Diego community’s needs. Hughes will hire an additional 60 full- and part-time team members to serve in the new restaurant, bringing the total number of team members across his two Point Loma restaurants to approximately 150.
Caring for the San Diego Community
The Chick-fil-A business is built to add a positive impact beyond profit, including giving back to local communities. Chick-fil-A local owner-operators are empowered to support the neighborhoods they serve with a key focus on hunger, education, and specific community needs.
In celebration of the opening, Chick-fil-A, Inc. has donated $25,000 to Feeding America to support the local hunger relief efforts of Feeding San Diego, a Feeding America partner food bank, in honor of the new restaurant.
Alongside Chick-fil-A Sports Arena, the new restaurant is planning to participate in the Chick-fil-A Shared Table program. This initiative redirects surplus food from the restaurant to local soup kitchens, shelters, food banks, and nonprofits in need. To date, more than 35 million meals have been created from Chick-fil-A Shared Table donations from over 2,300 Chick-fil-A restaurants throughout the U.S. and Canada.
In addition, Chick-fil-A Liberty Station is recognizing 100 local heroes making an impact in the San Diego area by providing them with free Chick-fil-A entrées for a year.
