Little Blue Menu, a digital-only Chick-fil-A concept first launched in late 2021 in Nashville, is coming to College Park, Maryland, Sept. 14. The concept offers signature Chick-fil-A offerings, as well as bone-in wings available smoked, roasted or fried, burgers, onion rings, sweet potato tots, and crispy brussels sprouts. Little Blue Menu is also offering Old Bay as an option in the sauces and seasoning section of the menu.
According to a company blog, the Little Blue Menu was created by senior culinary lead developer Stuart Tracy, who tested hundreds of recipes to derive the menu.
“Little Blue Menu is a great opportunity to expose people to new flavors,” Tracy said in a statement. “Now more than ever, people are looking for easy, convenient and most importantly, delicious delivery options, and we’re excited to provide that in College Park.”
The company said the menu will be “ever changing,” with guest feedback providing a guide to “help evolve the curated menu.” After completion of an order, selected guests receive a notification from the Chick-fil-A® App to participate in a customer satisfaction survey.
“As customers have shared their honest opinions about the concept, we have had the opportunity to tweak or add new menu items,” Kanika Patrick, who leads marketing for the concept, said in a statement. “College Park is a center of innovation, making it the ideal place to bring Little Blue Menu and provide ever-changing, fresh culinary experiences to guests in the community.”
The menu is available via delivery, mobile pickup and catering, with all orders placed through the Chick-fil-A app. Additionally, the Chick-fil-A menu items can be ordered via third-party delivery. The delivery radius for the location is approximately 10 minutes.
“Delivery is here to stay, especially in the College Park area. Now more than ever, customers and college students in the area want a variety of options delivered quickly, right to their doorstep,” L.J. Yankosky, senior director of the innovation and new ventures team at Chick-fil-A, said in a statement. “We are committed to bringing a level of service, professionalism and hospitality to the delivery process. Our guests can expect the level of trustworthy service they’re accustomed to with Chick-fil-A.”
This digital concept comes as the company’s digital sales mix hits 40% and even 50% in some markets. As such, the chain is also testing digital-forward restaurant formats and accelerating its mobile-order-ahead drive-thru feature.
The College Park location is expected to employ approximately 125 full-and part-time employees. In a statement, L.J. Yankosky, senior director of the innovation and new ventures team at Chick-fil-A, said the location was chosen because it is “a hub for innovation.” Upon its opening, Chick-fil-A will donate $25,000 to Feeding America to support the local Capital Area Food Bank. Little Blue Menu will also participate in Chick-fil-A Shared Table, an initiative that redirects surplus food from the restaurant to local shelters, soup kitchens, food banks and nonprofits.
The College Park location will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Its opening comes shortly after the Nashville test run of Little Blue Menu ended. The concept initially offered a variety of menu options across three virtual restaurant brands – Garden Day, Flock & Farm and Outfox Wings.
Little Blue Menu has since launched a food truck in Louisville, Ky., serving wings, boneless wings, fries, cookies and drinks. The food truck will end its stint in Louisville Sept. 30 and then embark upon a tour around Kentucky and Indiana daily, as first reported by the Courier Journal.
The Little Blue Menu name is a nod to Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy’s original blue menu at his first restaurant, called Hapeville Dwarf House.
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]