By Brian Bokor
Chicken Salad Chick, the nation’s only Southern-inspired, fast casual, chicken salad restaurant concept opened its fourth Tampa area location at 965 E. Bloomingdale Ave. on December 10 in Bloomingdale Square at the southwest corner of Bloomingdale Ave. and Bell Shoals Rd.
The owners, Brad and Tammy Cochran, as well as General Manager Jennifer Warren and District Manager Elena Diacanu, welcomed guests at its friends and family event held on the weekend prior to the grand opening.
The turnout was fantastic at the opening with well over 100 customers lining the store by 9 a.m. The first 100 customers received a free chicken salad each month for a year with customer number one receiving a free chicken salad every week.
The Cochrans initially signed the letter of intent in July 2016 with the store scheduled to open mid-2017, but due to unexpected construction delays, they waited over three years for their plans to become reality, passing on several storefront opportunities along Bloomingdale Ave. to remain in Bloomingdale Square due to the improvements being made to the plaza, the corner location of the store allowing for a drive-thru and the desire to become part of the ever-growing Brandon/Valrico/FishHawk/Riverview community.
The Bloomingdale store was to be the couple’s second in the Tampa area with the first having opened in 2015 near USF at 2790 E. Fowler Ave., so while this project was on hold, they moved forward and opened up two other Tampa locations.
The menu focuses around the 12 flavors of chicken salad made fresh by hand every morning using only premium chicken tenderloins. Beyond chicken salad, the menu offers several other healthy options in fresh salads along with homemade mac ‘n cheese, pimento cheese, gourmet soups and seasonal desserts.
The Cochrans, as well as the Chicken Salad Chick corporation as a whole, strongly believe in supporting local charitable events throughout the year, with all the money raised at its most recent friends and family event donated to Metropolitan Ministries along with supporting the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation.
This year, Feeding Tampa Bay will be supported with the proceeds from the giving card sales program that Chicken Salad Chick offers.
Chicken Salad Chick is open Monday-Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Catering is also offered. Visit www.chickensaladchick.com, and follow on social media for the latest trends.
