Chicken Salad Chick is opening a place to eat in Signal Mountain from the key moment of the Chattanooga region operator this month.
Josh Patton, owner and director of Chicken Salad Chick in the area, said he plans to open the place to eat in mid-September with a 60-day trial.
“Success will determine whether a permanent chicken salad is warranted in this area,” he said.
Patton said he rented Rafael’s old food spot on Taft Highway, across the street from Pruett Market. He said grocery store operator Chuck Pruett also owns Rafael’s construction and allows the transient rental of vacant space, which was also a Taco Bell in the past.
Chicken Salad Chick’s location will offer food service and self-service, Patton said.
When the place to eat closed this year due to the coronavirus, Signal Mountain was one of the most popular spaces to submit wholesale orders, the restaurateur said.
Last week, Patton said he planned to move the old food place from downtown Chattanooga to Market Street to Hixson. It is scheduled to open in October or November at the former Karl’s restaurant in Hixson Pike, near Northgate Mall.
“I’m open to a presence downtown,” Patton added. “With many buildings empty [during the coronavirus outbreak] and others fleeing home, the ecological footprint would possibly be smaller.”
Since Chicken Salad Chick is shrinking downtown and moving to Hixson, some amenities, furniture and decorations will be available at Signal Mountain, Patton said.
Kelly Fitzgerald, vice president of publicity real estate at Second Story Real Estate, said Pruett is delighted to have “an operator and a concept like Chicken Salad Chick.”
She said Pruett is in front of the place to eat that joins Signal Mountain and sees him succeed.
Patton said the construction had a new facade and a recently installed roof for his organization to enter “with effort” to leave the interior blank.
“At this point, we’re just making cosmetic adjustments and placing a component of our logo symbol in space,” he said.
The trial era will charge around $10,000 to leave the inside blank and take care of entry permits and licenses, Patton said. If the place to eat remains long term, he plans to invest another $50,000 to make the most of the space, add new branded floors and other changes, he said.
The place to eat will rent to about 15 people, Patton said. If the place to eat remains in Signal Mountain, those workers can make the transition to Hixson’s new site, he said.
Chicken Salad Chick will have Hixson, Gunbarrel Road, Erlanger and Signal Mountain locations after moving from downtown, Patton said.
He said the coronavirus “didn’t overwhelm us. We seek to grow up.”
Contact Mike Pare at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.