Beginning this month, seniors and other visitors to Cobb Senior Services in Marietta will be able to buy a Chick-fil-A biscuit or sandwich inside the Senior Wellness Center at 1150 Powder Springs St.
It will be the first time a fast-food chain has set up shop in a senior center, as Chick-fil-A becomes an innovative solution to a longstanding problem: a shuttered café inside a state-of-the-art center for older adults.
When Cobb’s wellness center opened five years ago, it broke the mold of traditional government-run senior facilities.
Located in a county government complex, this senior center is structured as a recreation and learning destination for active adults. It includes a well-stocked fitness center, dedicated art areas, classrooms, computers, a health clinic, theater and café. Adults 55 and older can come and go as they please during operating hours Monday through Friday.
The café was open to the public for two years. However, the service wasn’t adequate, so Cobb shut it down three years ago and never found another food service vendor to take it on, said Cobb Senior Services Executive Director Jessica Gill.
Gill explained that nonprofits that normally serve seniors have to adhere to federal nutritional guidelines, and it would take more than traffic inside the center to make it profitable.
They needed a different approach. Cobb turned to Meals on Wheels Atlanta, which was already bringing in 250 home-delivered meals and group meals daily to the Marietta location. Cobb asked the nonprofit to include the café as part of its food vendor contract.
“We didn’t have the capacity to run the café,” said Meals on Wheels Atlanta CEO Charlene Crusoe-Ingram. She said they would have had to hire a full-time staff and come up with menu choices. She discussed plans with several catering businesses, but realized that wasn’t feasible, either.
“Trying to get a for-profit business to run the café would not work. There’s not enough traffic for them to make money,” she said.
Because of the location, the café would have to sell a brand of food popular enough on its own to bring in customers. Crusoe-Ingram remembered seeing Chick-fil-A sandwiches being sold at other locations where there was no restaurant nearby.
The company has a longstanding relationship with Meals on Wheels Atlanta, with two corporate employees serving on the board of directors. Crusoe-Ingram turned to those board members for help. Instead of Meals on Wheels Atlanta operating the café, a Chick-fil-A franchisee agreed to take over that part of the contract and sell their own food in the café for at least a year.
Chick-fil-A of West Cobb will begin daily operations this month at the Senior Wellness Center. Because of the company's strict food preparation requirements, Chick-fil-A won't be using the café kitchen. The food will be prepared off-site and employees will bring it in to sell. There won't be any waffle fries, but most of the other familiar menu items can be purchased for breakfast and lunch.
The venture will have a special opening for lunch on Thursday, Sept. 7 and Friday, Sept. 8 between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., then open for regular operating hours 7-9 a.m. for breakfast and 11 a.m.-1 p.m. for lunch Mondays through Fridays, beginning Monday, Sept. 11.
Gill is hoping that through this partnership, people will look beyond Chick-fil-A and see what needs there are for seniors. She wants seniors to bring in their grandchildren, and young people in the community to drop by and see what’s available to Cobb’s older adults.
“I love the idea from an intergenerational standpoint,” Gill said. “If we can get more young people to come in, then we can change the perception of seniors and aging in some way.”
“This is our first try at this,” said Crusoe-Ingram, adding that she hopes the partnership is successful for all involved.
“Here you have a nonprofit, a for-profit and the government all coming together to provide a solution for the community. I’m hoping all three succeed and grow their brand,” she said.
If the partnership is successful, Cobb Senior Services would receive a percentage of the profits after a year, Gill said.
Chick-fil-A at Cobb Senior Services
Address: 1150 Powder Springs St., Marietta
Special opening: Thursday, Sept. 7, and Friday, Sept. 8, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Regular service: Monday through Friday, beginning Sept. 11
Breakfast hours: 7-9 a.m.
Lunch hours: 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
» Open to the public as a partnership between Cobb Senior Services, Meals on Wheels Atlanta and Chick-fil-A of West Cobb.
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