(Seguin) — A popular chicken restaurant is finally making its way into the Seguin area. The Seguin City Council on Tuesday approved a pair of agreements with Chick-fil-A that will allow the fast-food eatery to break ground sometime next year. The restaurant will be built near the corner of the I-10 Access Road and CH Matthies Drive, next door to Bill Miller’s Bar-B-Q.
The city formally announced the agreement in a post that was shared on social media. The video featured Seguin Mayor Donna Dodgen flanked by council members Jason Biesenbach and Bill Keller. Dodgen pretended to be starting a meeting, which was interrupted by someone dressed up like the famous cows from Chick-fil-A’s former ad campaigns. It, of course, was City Manager Steve Parker, who then served up a bunch of goodies from Chick-fil-A.
In that video, folks can hear Mayor Dodgen questioning an interruption at the start of a meeting.
“What’s going on? Sir! No! No! We cannot have livestock in the council chambers. Where is the police officers when you need somebody? Oh my gosh, what’s happening?”
Parker, while placing Chick-fil-A bags in front of council, follows by sharing, “We’ve got good news!”
The video wraps up with Dodgen announcing the news — “Oh wow! Seguin, it’s coming!”
The city has been working on this for years, and the community has been clamoring for this almost as long – if not longer. The deal apparently took not only the work of city staff, but also support from the Seguin Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) and the Seguin City Council.
The council approved two agreements. The first called for what is called a Chapter 380 agreement. According to the Texas Comptroller’s Office, a Chapter 380 agreement allows a taxing body, like the city of Seguin, to negotiate sales tax incentives from a developer in return for the project meeting certain benchmarks. The second item approved by the council spelled out those benchmarks, which were included in a performance agreement. The full details included in both agreements were not immediately made available.
Chick-fil-A is known for its quality food and high levels of customer service. The groundbreaking is expected to take place next year.
City officials say they don’t have a store opening date at this time, but that should be determined over the coming months as they move forward with the real estate and development process.
Meanwhile, reaction to the news was swift on social media. Folks were saying things like “best news ever” and “happy to know we will be getting a business with first-class customer service and great food also.”
There’s been a steady call over the years for more retail and restaurant developments to occur in Seguin. Chick-fil-A would represent yet be another player being added to the growth that’s occurring near the intersection of Interstate 10 and Highway 46. Over the last couple of years, Burger King, Chicken Express, Taco Bell and Domino’s Pizza have all opened up in that area. They joined Whataburger, Jack-In-The-Box, Subway, McDonald’s, Bill Miller’s and Garcia’s Mexican Restaurant that are already located in that area.
The SEDC’s Facebook page posted that “our community has long awaited this project, and we are ecstatic to finally announce its reality. We can’t wait to see the positive impact it will have on our local economy and the new opportunities it will create.”