The Chick-fil-A celebrated its official grand opening today with festivities like decorations, balloons, hiding miniature cow plushies and a cow mascot. 

The campus Chick-fil-A officially reopened on Friday, Jan. 17, with a new look and a new location on the second floor of the student union. The updated space, which replaces McAlister’s Deli, boasts a new design and updated menu, featuring popular classics like regular and spicy sandwiches, new salads, soups and mac and cheese. 

Ashlee Silliman, a shift lead and junior biochemistry major from Meridian, Miss., said she was confident the renovated and relocated restaurant will be successful. 

“It is an adjustment with a bigger layout of the plan and even a bigger staff due to the high demand we expect to have, but I think overall it will be even better than the previous Chick-fil-A,” Silliman said.

Chick-fil-A was formerly located on the first floor, next to Panda Express.  

The new setup will also allow customers to receive their drinks from behind the restaurant’s counter rather than having to go downstairs to the beverage fountains. 

“I don’t think any mistakes will happen because we have been working out the possible issues. A bigger demand calls for more orders,” Silliman said.

Many students were excited for Friday’s reopening, including sophomore psychology major Jamiria Massie.

“I am super excited for the grand opening of the improved Chick-fil-A in the union. I always loved the spicy chicken sandwich, and (I’m) glad it’s finally on campus,” Massie said.

Freshman pharmacy student Sandra Chen, a devoted Chick-fil-A patron, said she felt “beyond excited” about the new opening, though she expressed concern about the potential for increased traffic on the second floor, where many students study. 

“I’m sure the second floor will be more busy with the new Chick-fil-A opening. A lot of people study on the second floor sometimes, so they would probably need to find another place to study if they don’t want to be in the traffic of people getting their Chick-fil-A,” Chen said. 

Despite the challenges of reopening in a larger space, Silliman remains optimistic about the restaurant’s future. 

“I foresee this new Chick-fil-A being a good adjustment for the university in years to come, and hopefully it reflects it,” Silliman said.