Chick-fil-A Plans to Open in NYC Later This Year

Dan Gentile/Thrillist
Dan Gentile/Thrillist

UPDATE:Chick-fil-A has revealed the location of its first NYC eatery.

Despite 2014 coming and going without the launch of multiple new Chick-fil-A locations in NYC (as a company exec promised last spring), the fried chicken sandwich giant hasn't given up on its plans for artery-clogging domination sometime in the near future.

"We are planning to open in New York City later this year," said Carrie Kurlander, a Chick-fil-A spokesperson, via email on Friday. "It is premature for us to confirm further details, but would love to take you with us on the journey at the appropriate time." Kurlander declined to provide any specifics on the plans, but said, "I hope we will have a grand opening to announce by late summer/early fall!"

The morsel of information comes almost a year after Woody Faulk, Chick-fil-A's vice president of design and innovation, toldUSA Today that a "good chunk" of the 108 restaurants the company planned to open in 2014 would be in NYC. "If we can't do it in New York, we have no business going anywhere else," Faulk told the paper at the time. Currently, the closest thing to Chick-fil-A in NYC is a licensed location at New York University's Weinstein Food Court.

Since Faulk's comments, some New Yorkers have openly wondered what has kept the company from finally opening NYC outposts, including whoever is behind this @ChickfilANYC Twitter account that has demanded answers from the company in recent weeks and months. Kurlander didn't respond to a question about why the NYC expansion has been delayed, but maybe it had something to do with that whole anti-gay scandal that pissed off some city officials a few years back.

Just last month, Chick-fil-A announced plans to open its first location on Long Island in Port Jefferson Station sometime this fall, according to a report by the Long Island Press.

Tony Merevick is Cities News Editor at Thrillist and could go for some good fried chicken. It's been a while. Follow him on Twitter @tonymerevick.