FARMINGTON, N.M. — Drivers passing through Farmington, New Mexico, now have a new drive-thru option for prepared food. Chick-fil-A, at 4910 Main St., has opened a semi-truck-friendly drive-thru service. In addition, the restaurant is offering free meals to professional truck drivers and first responders.
“We’ve seen a need, not only in our community, but across the country as Americans try to deal with the coronavirus pandemic and daily life is being altered,” said restaurant owner Gary Smouse.
“The nation’s truck drivers are among those who are still working and need food options,” he continued. “Truck drivers are risking their personal health and doing the hard work to keep products moving to stores, restaurants, hospitals and elsewhere. This (drive-thru service) was the least we could do to say ‘thank you.’”
The semi-truck drive-thru, which first opened March 23, serves 15 to 20 trucks a day, Smouse said, adding that the number of truck drivers using the service is growing as word spreads through the trucking industry.
“At one point we had as many as four semis utilize the drive-thru at the same time,” he said.
To use the drive-thru service, professional drivers pull into the designated lanes — there are two lanes, Smouse said — and are greeted by Chick-fil-A team members, who take the drivers’ orders. Drivers may also take advantage of mobile ordering using the Chick-fil-A app, which allows for touch-free payment processing.
When planning the semi drive-thru service, Smouse said his team worked with a local sign company to create banners and signs to help truckers navigate the lanes. He also expressed appreciation to a neighboring retailer, Dick’s Sporting Goods, for allowing Chick-fil-A to use its parking lot to provide much-needed meal service for truck drivers.
“Without truck drivers, we couldn’t open our restaurant. It’s as simple as that,” Smouse said.
Linda Garner-Bunch has been in publishing for more than 30 years. You name it, Linda has written about it. She has served as an editor for a group of national do-it-yourself publications and has coordinated the real estate section of Arkansas’ only statewide newspaper, in addition to working on a variety of niche publications ranging from bridal magazines to high-school sports previews and everything in between. She is also an experienced photographer and copy editor who enjoys telling the stories of the “Knights of the Highway,” as she calls our nation’s truck drivers.
Good for you guys and God bless you for doing this. Are truckers are the only thing that’s keeping us food on our tables and medicine and so forth. I’m glad somebody thought of this and I hope more places do it. Again thank you so much
This is really cool! I’ve been seeing a few articles in the past few days about truck drivers are being turned away from placing an order while on the road because the vehicles are taking too much space in the parking lot or whatever reason. Businesses are starting to realize the dire importance of adapting to better serve essential workers like truck drivers, and I can only imagine how big of a morale boost that is in a time like this. From having makeshift drive-thrus, to paying for showers and weighing, every little bit helps.