Inside an iconic fast food chain’s training center with a FAKE restaurant simulator: it’s coming to UK high streets in 2025

FAMOUS for its chicken sandwiches and soon to hit high streets across the UK, we visited Chick-fil-A’s top secret US headquarters.

It’s a place where monopoly money replaces American currency, where bikes replace cars, and where employees pose as hungry customers.

8

8

8

8

Located next to Chick-fil-A’s headquarters south of Atlanta, Georgia, the massive restaurant simulator is where the chain tests new ideas – from menu options to kitchen gadgets before ‘they don’t reach its 3,000 restaurants and its millions of hungry customers.

The 6,000 square foot complex is also where a chosen few train to open their own Chick-fil-A Restaurants.

The US fast food giant is expected to open its first UK site in early 2025 under a similar franchise model, with four more over the following two years.

Those interested in opening and operating their own restaurant here should visit the mothership in the coming months.

The Sun was invited to visit this simulator in action and take a bike ride around the covert operations to understand exactly what they can expect – and how it will influence what you see on your plate.

From the outside, the building looks like an Ikea-style warehouse.

Walking in for the first time, I could walk into any chain restaurant in the US.

But as I look up, I see pendant lighting and vaulted ceilings, like you would see in a movie set, revealing that this is not for the general public and that I am just one of the few people there. an overview. inside.

Tens of thousands of people apply each year to run one of these restaurants, but only a fraction of them succeed.

The Washington Post called it harder than getting into Harvard.

A potential franchisee in Atlanta told me that as many as 100,000 people apply for positions at the chain each year.

Those who succeed come face to face with senior executives in the simulator, marking the final step before getting the keys to their own local restaurant.

They are expected to take orders, prepare food, and attend to “customers” who choose to use the makeshift drive-thru.

The only thing missing is the many customers who usually pass by any normal Chick-fil-A restaurant for their meal – and that was a bit strange without any training at that time.

Inside there is not just one but several different models to replicate all the possible configurations they can go into. real life.

There are working checkouts, vast expanses of seating, restrooms, drive-thru kiosks and full-size kitchens.

These can serve anything you’d find at a normal Chick-fil-A restaurant, patented fryers for cooking from the original chicken sandwich to salad bars and milkshake machines.

I pretended to place my order at the drive-thru using the bikes scattered around the warehouse.

The entire place was spotless, just like you expect to see in real life Chick-fil-A restaurants.

During training, future operators are given an hour to serve customers, and the warehouse is filled to the brim with hungry employees.

But it’s not just the food preparation that’s the important part: here, trainees are thrown into the deep end and learn how to deal with both satisfied and demanding customers.

Their job is to ensure they keep their customer service skills up to Chick-fil-A’s high standards.

After all, those wishing to acquire a franchise must demonstrate to the company that they will not only serve food with a smile, but also give back to the locality to create a sense of community.

Chick-fil-A encourages operators to choose how and when they want to give back – supporting causes that are meaningful to them, their customers and their communities.

For example, in some areas this means supporting the troops by hosting military recognition events or inviting guests to family events like a daddy-daughter night.

Take the course and meet these standards, and you’re ready to own your own Chick-fil-A franchise.

Food innovation

New culinary creations are also created here, in a secret food innovation center, before being tested with operators in the simulator and then appearing on menus.

In fact, it’s so secret that we weren’t allowed to take photos during our visit.

The building resembled a clinical laboratory and was lined with rooms filled with kitchen equipment, technicians and food engineers doing everything from quality testing to designing new menu items.

I saw a technician simply count how many fries fit comfortably in their Chick-fil-A wrapper.

Although it wasn’t possible to show me every aspect of the building, I was led into a room filled to the brim with the chain’s patented equipment.

Here I was allowed to attempt to make my own strawberry milkshake Chick-fil-A style.

It was easier than I thought and contained a large pump of Icedream (Chick-fil-A’s version of a creamy vanilla ice cream), strawberry syrup, whipped cream and finished with a frozen cherry.

Even though I used the specially designed milkshake machine, it still takes a human touch to get the mixture right and technique – it wasn’t my best work, but it was tasty.

The chicken sandwich shop is a family business business and operates as a franchise-style system where anyone can apply to operate their own restaurant.

It differs from others fast food the chains we know in the UK – like McDonald’s, KFC Or Burger King – because the franchisees are not themselves owners of the sites.

Franchisees – or operators as they are called – run the businesses on a day-to-day basis, but Chick-fil-A owns the rest, including the physical location.

This means that the company owns the restaurant itself, while the franchisee operates the business on its behalf, resulting in a lower expense and less risk for operators.

In the US, the initial franchise agreement costs just $10,000 (£7,932), while a McDonald’s franchise typically costs between £350,000 and £1.85 million in the UK.

Chick-fil-A also allows its operators to operate up to three stores and the majority only operate one location.

With other fast food chains, you can run several at once and even build a mini empire, although it requires a significant investment.

8

8

8

8