By Jose De Jesus Alvarado
TAMIU students have a variety of foods to choose from when it comes to lunch hour. Anything from different types of salads all the way to a variety of grilled burgers, nobody is left out when it comes to the foods they like to eat. The greatest addition to the vast amounts of choices students had has been from the second major franchise to join Aramark, the all time favorite, Chick-Fil-A Express.
Despite the fact that it is not a full-blown Chick-Fil-A like others here in Laredo, it is Aramark’s best-selling franchise brand after Starbucks. This is an impressive accomplishment considering that Starbucks is the complete package, unlike Chick-Fil-A which falls under the Express category. Furthermore, TAMIU students are not missing out on any of the franchise’s key products because over time new products are added to the menu, like the Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich, Grilled Nuggets, and, more recently, the Chicken Noodle and Tortilla Soups.
On average, approximately 300 Chick-Fil-A sandwiches are sold every single day. This goes without mentioning the many other items the brand has to offer. In any given week, the franchise manages to push about 1,500 sandwiches to students. Moreover, in the course of only three and a half weeks, Chick-Fil-A manages to sell approximately 5,690 sandwiches. Looking at these numbers, TAMIU students pose a strong demand for the franchise and only help push for more items to be added to the menu. Many students are nowadays opting for more healthy lifestyles, and Chick-Fil-A could have not come at a better time to TAMIU. Students now have the choice of a healthier meal before resorting to what first came to mind when it came to healthy eating, Subway. These numbers, however, are only the beginning. Every day more and more students are turning to Chick-Fil-A for lunch hour because, as the name implies, it is a grab-and-go option they have whenever they want to grab a quick bite in between classes or their schedule only allows for them to have a short amount of time to eat. This is by far the greatest advantage they have over any other of their competitors in the food court area.
Overall, all of these accomplishments are extremely impressive given the franchise’s short amount of time within its parent company Aramark. It quickly rose to the top meeting other already established franchises like Subway and Starbucks, and at times, even surpassing their both companies’ daily sales. Aramark’s runaway success with the Chick-Fil-A franchise shows how they are clearly catering to both TAMIU students and staffs’ needs when it comes to their food preferences.
Additionally, besides providing TAMIU with more variety when it comes to food, Chick-Fil-A also provides TAMIU students with potential job opportunities. For instance, this spring semester, the majority of the franchise’s employees are TAMIU students. Assuredly, Chick-Fil-A will continue growing as it better learns to meet student’s needs over time, and, judging from their current state, they are on a great track. Every day, more and more sandwiches are being sold, and this only increases the chances that new menu items start appearing to better fulfill their customer’s needs.
