A staple of the food court in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union has reopened after long-awaited changes.  

The Chick-fil-A restaurant reopened to Eastern students at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday and was met with a long line of customers. Both students and community members were present for the reopening.  

Known for its staples such as chicken sandwiches, chicken nuggets and lemonade, Chick-fil-A is expanding locally, with a standalone restaurant opening in Mattoon later this month. Chick-fil-A has over 3,000 restaurants across 48 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and Canada, according to the company website.  

The latest changes include several new menu items such as chicken tenders, macaroni and cheese and milkshakes being served. Customers can also place mobile and delivery orders through Grubhub, which was not available before the remodel. A window specifically for pick-up orders was added as part of the remodel just outside of the food court.  

One of the checkout stations in the food court was converted into two mobile ordering kiosks. Customers had a 20-minute wait on the first day of the restaurant reopening. The wait time was reduced considerably the next day, with many customers receiving their orders in less than 10 minutes.  

With the restaurant being closed for the first two weeks of classes, many students are excited to see it return.  

Jackson Liley, a freshman business major, frequents Chick-fil-A both on-campus and at home and is excited about the upgrades.  

“Chick-fil-A is probably my favorite fast-food restaurant,” Liley said.

His favorite meal is the eight piece nugget meal with Chick-fil-A sauce.  

Adam Boykin, a fellow freshman business major, also shared excitement about the changes.  

“I go to Chick-fil-A all the time, and I can’t wait to do so,” Boykin said.

His favorite meal is the spicy chicken sandwich. Boykin discussed how the nearest Chick-fil-A in his hometown is less than a five-minute drive from his house. He is excited to have a location convenient on campus as well.  

Josh Simon, a freshman business major, is also a frequent customer of the restaurant. His favorite menu item is the classic chicken sandwich. All three expressed excitement about the expanded menu offerings, particularly the milkshakes.  

The Chick-fil-A remodel has been in the works since the spring semester of 2023. This is the third new or upgraded restaurant in the food court in the past three years.

Qdoba opened in fall 2023 after the university negotiated with several national businesses. The former Subway was converted into Ace Sushi the year prior and made more money in one semester than the Subway did the final year it was open.

Multiple requests for comment from Chick-fil-A were not returned.  

Jacob Hamm can be reached at 581-2812 or at jmhamm@eiu.edu.