Newspaper Page Text
The Champion, Thursday, March 26 - April 1, 2015 BUSINESS
Page 17A
Owner/operator Tony Royal, who opened a freestanding Chick-fil-A in Stonecrest two months after the nearby mall opened, says the area has the potential for more growth.
Business owner says Stonecrest
area offers ‘unique opportunities’
by Kathy Mitchell
A month after The Mall
at Stonecrest opened in
October 2001, Tony Royal
opened a Chick-fil-A in
the same area, making
him owner/operator of the
chains 1,000th restaurant.
Royal said that becom
ing one of what he terms
“the Stonecrest 100” turned
out to be a good business
decision. The term, he said,
refers to retail businesses
that surround the Mall at
Stonecrest. “Actually,” he
added, “I think there are
now more than 100. We en
joy a wonderful relationship
with many of the merchants
and managers in the area.”
Although he has seen
the once semi-rural area
grow tremendously dur
ing the past 14 years, Royal
said, “I absolutely think
there is room for more
growth. There is still a great
deal of undeveloped land
in the area. I would like to
see fine dining restaurants,
entertainment venues such
as a Dave & Buster’s, an ex
ercise facility such as L.A.
Fitness and a dedicated gro
cery store such as Kroger or
Publix.”
Key factors in having
a successful business in an
area such as Stonecrest,
Royal said, are offering an
exceptional product, provid
ing outstanding customer
service and maintaining
perpetual community in
volvement. “These are par
ticularly important when
there are numerous busi
nesses or restaurants in the
same area,” he said.
The decision to open
a freestanding Chick-fil-A
near the regional mall came
from the restaurant’s corpo
rate office. Calling it an offer
rarely afforded new opera
tors, Royal said he believes
he was chosen for what he
calls “this wonderful oppor
tunity at Turner Hill Road”
because of his success at an
other Chick-fil-A location.
The Greenbriar Mall
restaurant—the first Chick-
fil-A—opened in 1967.
Royal became its owner/
operator in 2000. He posted
double-digit profits and was
chosen by the corporate of
fice as Chick-fil-A’s “Rookie
of the Year.” After accepting
the Stonecrest offer, he sold
the Greenbriar Mall location
back to the company.
His restaurant has
thrived in spite of the large
number of dining choices
in the Stonecrest area be
cause of “the best chicken
sandwich in the world” and
an excellent reputation in
the community, said Royal,
quoting a scripture that
states, “A good name is rath
er to be chosen than great
riches.”
“Chick-fil-A chooses the
best locations,” Royal said.
“Founder S. Truett Cathy
had a keen business sense
that served his company
well for over 60 years. FTis
wonderful family makes
great business decisions and
great locations are para
mount to generating great
revenues. I jumped at this
opportunity because I knew
it would be a very profit
able location. It has certainly
proven to be that. Further, it
is in my community in
which I live, attend church
and where the children went
to school.”
Royal said that owning a
business in his community
provides him with a unique
opportunity to earn a liv
ing on his own terms while
helping to build his com
munity “I wanted to own
my own business since I was
20 years old,” he recalled. “I
started working in the quick
service restaurant business
when I was 18 years old. At
about the age of 30,1 knew I
wanted to own my own res
taurant.”
He was working for
another company at the
time, he said, but wanted
to join Chick-fil-A because
he admires its products, its
business model and its cor
porate philosophy, noting
that Cathy “laid a wonder
ful foundation. He created
an exceptional blueprint for
success. One of his mottos is
‘Why not your very best?”’
As a business owner,
Royal said, in addition to
being able to set his own
schedule and create income
without hitting a manage
ment salary ceiling set by
an employer, he is able to
make a positive impact on
the lives of others—making
personal decisions that help
to empower people.
“It is great to be able
to invest my resources in
events and initiatives that
help my community and not
have to answer to or get per
mission from my manager,”
he added. “I have set up The
Chick-fil-A at Turner Hill
Road Partners in Service
Scholarships, which allows
me to give $500 scholarships
to five to 10 partner schools
annually.”
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