March 6: Chick-fil-A

One of the newest business additions in Springfield is a franchise of the Chick-fil-A restaurant chain. The new restaurant is located in the Gateway area, near the intersection of Gateway and Beltline. Chick-fil-A’s franchise model is essential to how the restaurant serves others. Most Chick-fil-A restaurants are owned and operated by a single individual, which means Chick-fil-A’s local Owner-Operators are small business owners, not passive investors, who work in their restaurants side by side with their Team Members each day.

In Springfield, Jared Coleman will be responsible for all day-to-day activities of the business, including employing approximately 150 full- and part-time Team Members, serving Guests, cultivating relationships with local organizations and businesses, and tailoring philanthropic efforts to meet the Springfield community’s needs.

Driven by a heart for service from an early age, Coleman began his journey with Chick-fil-A in high school, serving as a Team Member in Tucson, Arizona. He attended the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky, and later pursued graduate studies at Florida State University. During graduate school, he worked at a Chick-fil-A near campus, which reignited his passion for the restaurant’s people first-culture. In 2013, Coleman joined Chick-fil-A in Tallahassee, Florida, where he spent nearly six years under the mentorship of a local Owner-Operator. This pivotal experience led him to shift his focus from pursuing a doctorate to becoming a Chick-fil-A local Owner-Operator himself. In 2019, he achieved this goal, becoming the local Owner-Operator of Chick-fil-A Cedar Hills Blvd in Beaverton, Oregon. Now, Coleman, along with his wife and three children, looks forward to opening Springfield’s first Chick-fil-A restaurant, where he plans to build strong partnerships with local educators and schools.

“Chick-fil-A has deep roots in our family – my father became a local Owner-Operator in Tucson after retiring from the Air Force,” said Coleman. “As I introduce Chick-fil-A to the Springfield community, I am honored to continue our family legacy and uphold the company’s culture of care. At Chick-fil-A Gateway & Randy Pape Beltline, we aim to create a supportive environment where Team Members can grow and pursue their dreams through the same kind of mentorship that shaped my journey.”