Owner, operator shares excitement of new franchise
(Seguin) — For years, Seguin residents have shared one collective fast-food wish: “When are we getting a Chick-fil-A?” This popular question, for years, has floated around in everyday conversations including social media comment sections and community forums. However, this Thursday, that longtime wish becomes reality as Chick-fil-A Seguin officially opens its doors, ushering in not just a new restaurant, but a moment of celebration for a community that has never stopped asking.
Leading the launch is franchise owner and operator Weillen Garduno-Hernandez, who says the timing, location and community aligned perfectly — not just for Seguin, but for her own career journey, which began when she first joined Chick-fil-A as a 16-year-old team member.
“I am actually originally from Georgia – moved to Texas when I was 21. I moved to El Paso so that was just kind of my introduction to Texas and fell in love with Texas, but I did Chick-fil-A’s leadership development program and in that time, they put me in West Texas. I learned that West Texas was not for me. I also really didn’t care for East Texas as much and I spent some time in Central Texas and that is when I was like okay, I love Central Texas. You have the suburbs, and you also have like the city, and you have the best of both worlds which is kind of like the world that I was raised in Georgia but then I knew that Texas is where I want to stay forever. So once this opportunity came up, it was just perfect,” said Garduno-Hernandez.
As opening day approaches, she says the welcome that she has received thus far only reaffirms her decision.
“I am so excited. My time in Seguin has been incredible, just like going into town and visiting all the coffee shops and eating in the restaurants, it has been really nice to connect with the community. I know there are some areas in Texas that are not excited for growth, but Seguin is so excited, and everyone has been so welcoming and even being a part of the chamber, everyone has been so kind and so I’m really excited. I’m excited to see all the familiar faces. I’m excited to just connect with the community and do events and get involved,” said Garduno-Hernandez.
Located along Interstate 10 at 1610 CH Matthies Jr., Garduno-Hernandez says folks will find a uniqueness behind the layout and amenities. She says that’s because this location was intentionally designed with families and community events in mind.
“Our big outdoor patio, we have around eight tables out there. Normally, you get around six or less than that and then we just have so much more room to do events out there and host people. We have a playground. A lot of Chick-fil-A’s don’t have playgrounds right now. So, we have that for the community and then our drive-thru, it’s pretty big and then we are also going to have the Mobile Thru so for guests who don’t want to wait in the drive-thru line, then can order through our app and go through our drive-thru. So, we have that also. We just want to provide as much as we can for our community. I think we have a really unique restaurant, and we can serve everyone coming off of the highway but also the community inside,” said Garduno-Hernandez.
When it comes to customer service, she says her approach will build on Chick-fil-A’s reputation for “creating a remarkable restaurant experience,” while also including her own personal vision for how the Seguin team will serve its guests.
“Our restaurant vision is to serve high quality food with care and purpose bringing the Seguin community together through every meal. So that is really important – one the community piece but also serving fresh high quality food for the community and also the piece where you bring everyone together and then our team motto which you will probably hear because we made a video on it, and that we will post on social media is ‘We Come to EAT.’ So, E.A.T. stands for Excel with purpose, Act with humility and Thrive relentlessly so that is going to be our team motto as we think through how we are serving guests, how we are serving each other, how we are serving the community. That’s the lens that I want our team to look at things through,” said Garduno-Hernandez.
And although Chick-fil-A is already known for its service, Garduno-Hernandez says she hopes to instill something extra here in Seguin and that’s a genuine hospitality culture inspired by her own upbringing.
“I’m very excited. If there is anything that’s important to the way that I was raised in my culture is hospitality so I’m excited to just take the hospitality that I was given – the best experience that I had in hospitality was going to my mom’s house every time I went to Georgia so I’m excited to replicate that here at the restaurant and hopefully, I have been doing that through my time working with Chick-fil-A and then also serve really great food. I’m excited for that. I love our food and so, I’m just excited to get to meet the community as well because hopefully, I will be here a longtime,” said Garduno-Hernandez.
Helping to roll out the new franchise operation will be nearly 90 fully trained employees.
She says opening day will be packed with fun including a chance for guests to snag some free food.
“Dining room will be open. Drive thru will be open. We are also doing a Cows Eat Free event. So, if you wear cow prints, you do get a free entrée and it’s like a sandwich, fries, nuggets – it’s listed on our website. We are just hoping to connect with the community really well. We understand that we might have hiccups. But we just want to make a good impression on the community and just also connect with the community long term as well because that is our goal — to start with serving you guys in the restaurant and bring more events here — eventually do kids nights and bingo — so we are looking forward to it,” said Garduno-Hernandez.
Seguin’s new Chick-fil-A restaurant will be open Mondays through Saturdays from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Again, doors officially open at 6:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 23.