Expansion in Mankato and the Greater Twin Cities to Create More Than 500 Jobs and Provide $125K in Support to Local Food Banks<\/p>\n
MINNEAPOLIS\u00a0(July\u00a08, 2026)\u00a0\u2013\u00a0From the Twin Cities to communities across Southern and Central Minnesota, Chick-fil-A\u00ae is furthering its investment in the North Star State with five new locally owned and operated restaurants set to open by the end of 2028. The restaurants will create more than 500 jobs, and the company will donate $125,000 to local food banks to celebrate the openings.<\/p>\n
Regional\u00a0Growth
Since opening its first Minnesota restaurant in 2005, Chick-fil-A has expanded its presence across the state, bringing its signature hospitality and freshly prepared food to Guests served at its 27 restaurants. Building on this momentum, Chick-fil-A plans to open new, locally owned and operated restaurants in several communities, including:<\/p>\n
Mankato: The first standalone restaurant in the market is expected to open this summer, marking growth in Southern Minnesota.<\/p>\n
Twin Cities Metro:\u00a0Expansion continues with\u00a0restaurants\u00a0planned in Shakopee and Stillwater in late 2026, followed by Woodbury in 2028.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Central\u00a0Minnesota:\u00a0A\u00a0new\u00a0restaurant in\u00a0Baxter,\u00a0slated\u00a0to open in 2027,\u00a0will\u00a0mark\u00a0the brand\u2019s first location in the\u00a0region.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMinnesota is home to thriving local businesses and people who care deeply about their neighbors,\u201d said Brent Townsend, Sr. Area Director, Midwest Region. \u201cOur expansion is about so much more than just opening restaurants. By empowering local Owner-Operators as independent small business owners, we\u2019re investing in people and communities \u2013 creating jobs, building trusted gathering spaces and serving neighbors both in and out of the restaurant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caring for the\u00a0Minnesota\u00a0Community
Chick-fil-A\u00a0Owner-Operators\u00a0in\u00a0Minnesota\u00a0are\u00a0passionate about showing care to the communities they serve.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Creating Job Opportunities: The\u00a0expansion will\u00a0create\u00a0an estimated\u00a0500\u202fjobs\u00a0offering competitive pay, flexible schedules and hands-on training.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Developing Future Leaders:\u202f\u00a0Chick-fil-A empowers Minnesota-based Team Members, having awarded more than 900\u00a0\u202fChick-fil-A Remarkable Futures\u2122 Scholarships\u202f\u00a0to Team Members across the state.\u00a0\u202fAdditionally,\u00a0local\u00a0Owner-Operators sponsor\u00a0Chick-fil-A Leader Academy\u2122\u00a0at\u00a0five schools statewide to teach students\u00a0leadership and community service.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Awarding Nonprofit Grants: Chick-fil-A,\u00a0Inc. has awarded $360,000\u00a0to local organizations through\u00a0its\u00a0True Inspiration Awards\u00ae program.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Feeding America Partnership: With\u00a0the opening of the\u00a0new\u00a0Mankato\u00a0location,\u00a0Chick-fil-A\u2018s total contributions to\u00a0Feeding America partners\u00a0across Minnesota\u00a0will\u00a0reach\u00a0$250,000\u202fto\u00a0since 2020.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
Redirecting Surplus Food: All 27 Minnesota-based Chick-fil-A restaurants\u00a0participate\u00a0in the\u00a0Chick-fil-A\u202fShared Table\u00ae program, helping create\u00a0more than\u00a0430,000\u00a0meals\u00a0for\u00a0local nonprofits\u00a0since\u00a02017.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Local Ownership:\u00a0Chick-fil-A is committed to fostering local ownership and economic mobility by empowering individuals to run their own businesses and contribute to their\u00a0community. To learn more about becoming a local Owner-Operator in Minnesota, visit
www.chick-fil-a.com\/franchise.\u00a0<\/p>\n
About Chick-fil-A, Inc.
Chick-fil-A, Inc. is the third largest quick-service restaurant\u202fcompany\u202fin the United States, known for its\u00a0freshly-prepared\u00a0food, signature\u00a0hospitality\u00a0and unique franchise model. More than 200,000 Team Members are employed by local\u202fOwner-Operators in more than 3,000 restaurants across the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, the\u00a0UK\u00a0and Singapore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chick-fil-A local Owner-Operators live and work in the communities their restaurants serve,\u202feach supporting local efforts and making a positive impact. Chick-fil-A gives back through programs including Shared Table, True Inspiration Awards and Scholarships. The family-owned and privately held company got its start in 1946, founded by S. Truett Cathy.\u202fMore information on Chick-fil-A is available at\u202f\u202fwww.chick-fil-a.com and Chick-fil-A Press Room.<\/p>\n
###<\/p>\n
Contact: Media Hotline: (800) 404-7196
Email:\u00a0[email\u00a0protected]\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Expansion in Mankato and the Greater Twin Cities to Create More Than 500 Jobs and Provide $125K in Support to Local Food Banks MINNEAPOLIS\u00a0(July\u00a08, 2026)\u00a0\u2013\u00a0From the Twin Cities to communities across Southern and Central Minnesota, Chick-fil-A\u00ae is furthering its investment in the North Star State with five new locally owned and operated restaurants set to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7167,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[4075,4073,4071,4074,4072],"class_list":["post-7166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-minnesota","tag-minnesota","tag-minnesota-dining","tag-minnesota-food","tag-minnesota-grocery-stores","tag-minnesota-restaurant"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/vive.im\/@dc\/117265300476444475","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7166"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7166\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}