Emeryville: Newest Chick-fil-A in the Bay opens today

Chick-fil-A, the fried-chicken sandwich juggernaut, has added to its growing Bay Area footprint.

The chain’s newest restaurant — No. 22 — opens today, April 27, in Emeryville at the East Bay Bridge Shopping Center. This franchise is locally owned by Jon Hooper, an entrepreneur who first started working at Chick-fil-A at the age of 16.

Operating hours will be 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Returning to the spring menu is the seasonal Watermelon Mint Lemonade. Three new beverages have sprung from that: Watermelon Mint Sunjoy, Watermelon Mint Frosted Lemonade and Watermelon Mint Iced Tea.

Since 2019, Chick-fil-A has served antibiotic-free chicken in all of its U.S. locations.

That year the chain also released a new charitable giving policy that focuses on contributions to nonprofits that work with children in the areas of education, homelessness and hunger. For each new restaurant opening, Chick-fil-A donates $25,000 to Feeding America, with the funds being distributed in the local region. The company also donated $15,000 to the Emeryville Citizens Assistance Program and announced plans to donate surplus food to the Berkeley Food & Housing Project.

Details: 1525 40th St., Emeryville; www.chick-fil-a.com/