Little Blue Menu, Chick-fil-A’s off-premises kitchen concept, is opening in College Park, Maryland, on Thursday, the brand announced.
The standalone store will offer Little Blue Menu delivery, third-party delivery (Chick-fil-A menu items only), mobile pickup, and catering pickup. All orders will be placed through the app. The delivery radius is roughly 10 minutes, and Chick-fil-A drivers will use hybrid electric vehicles.
“We are committed to bringing a level of service, professionalism and hospitality to the delivery process,” L.J. Yankosky, Chick-fil-A’s senior director of innovation and new ventures, said in a statement. “Our guests can expect the level of trustworthy service they’re accustomed to with Chick-fil-A.”
Chick-fil-A’s website lists three main menu items for Little Blue Menu: The Original Chicken Sandwich, bone-in and boneless wings, and hamburgers. Side items include onion rings, sweet potato tots, and Brussels sprouts. The menu was created after testing hundreds of recipes. Chick-fil-A said offerings will evolve following customer feedback; after completing an order, certain guests will receive a notification to participate in a guest satisfaction survey.
The location will employ 125 full- and part-time employees. Little Blue Menu College Park will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
“Little Blue Menu is a great opportunity to expose people to new flavors,” Stuart Tracy, senior culinary lead developer, 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.”
Yankosky described College Park as a “hub for innovation.” Leaning into the local market, the upcoming store will offer Baltimore, Maryland-based OLD BAY seafood seasoning as an option.
“Born on the bay and loved across the USA—nothing says Maryland pride like OLD BAY,” Luna Ravenna, McCormick & Company’s senior director of marketing and e-commerce, said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to combine the beloved flavors Marylanders know and love with Little Blue Menu’s offerings.”
Little Blue Menu gets its name from the blue menus of Hapeville Dwarf House, the first Chick-fil-A restaurant opened by S. Truett Cathy in 1946. Chick-fil-A began testing the virtual kitchen in Nashville in 2021 and ran the pilot through May. The company told local news station WSMV that the Little Blue Menu concept “allowed us to test new menu items and ordering channels to see what resonated with our guests.”
Chick-fil-A generated $18.814 billion in U.S. sales across 2022, ranking third on this year’s QSR 50, which highlights the top 50 quick-service chains in America by domestic systemwide sales. The chicken giant only trailed McDonald’s ($48.7 billion) and Starbucks ($28.1 billion), even though it has thousands fewer locations in comparison. Average-unit volumes at freestanding drive-thrus ended 2022 at $8.676 million, up from $8.142 million and $7.096 million in 2021 and 2020, respectively.
