Owensboro’s newest restaurant is opening next week, as Chicken Salad Chick in Gateway Commons is slated to open Sept. 1.
Hannah Witherspoon, who owns the restaurant with her family, has never been in the restaurant business before but fell in love with Chicken Salad Chick while on vacation in Destin, Fla., about eight years ago.
“We love this restaurant,” she said. “We just love the food. We love the atmosphere, the culture, the brand. As we started looking into it a little more as a business opportunity, we found out that they were growing and they were looking for a place in Kentucky to put some stores.”
Unlike many restaurant owners who have dealt with setbacks during the coronavirus pandemic, Witherspoon said Chicken Salad Chick is still opening right on schedule.
“It honestly takes this long to find the right spot and get everything in line with construction — it’s just been a process,” she said. “We’re right on target for when we want to open.”
While dine-in capacity is limited to 50 percent, they will also have their drive-thru open.
“We know that’s going to be a popular option for people,” Witherspoon said. “We want people to be patient with us on that. This is a new concept that a lot of people in Owensboro aren’t familiar with. We’re going to try and be helpful — we have these cards printed that we are going to hand out in the drive-thru so they can start familiarizing themselves with the most popular options on our menu.”
The restaurant offers at least 12 different flavors of chicken salad that range from savory to spicy and fruity to nutty. They also have signature turkey sandwiches, pimento cheese, egg salad, desserts, cookies and more.
“It’s all made fresh, daily in the restaurant,” she said. “That’s what makes us stand out from the other fast food people — it’s made fresh. We cook the chicken right there and mix it all in in house.”
