Why are so many Chick-fil-A's in Columbus so close together?

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- "My pleasure."  

It's the hospitable line Chick-fil-A staffers are trained to say to customers, creating a unique experience compared to other quick-service restaurants, and in Columbus right now, "my pleasure" is a common expression. 

Currently, Chick-fil-A operates 14 locations in central Ohio, and northern Columbus customers are accustomed to seeing the logo frequently.   

Last year, a new location opened on U.S. 23 in Lewis Center. Three miles down on State Route 750/Polaris Parkway, there are two more Chick-fil-A locations, one inside Polaris Fashion Place and the second a new, stand-alone location in front of Target on Polaris Parkway. 

"Columbus overall is growing, and Polaris attracts people from all over Columbus,” Waylon Willoughby, owner of both Chick-fil-A locations in Polaris, said. 

Polaris is a reflection of central Ohio's growth, with national chain stores lining Polaris Parkway on both sides of Interstate 71. The new location along the parkway features a dual-line drive-thru with a specific lane for advance orders placed via the company's app. The drive-thru is typically filled with customers—a good problem to have. 

"The customer is king and queen,” Ohio State Fisher College of Business senior lecturer Brian Hipsher said. “You know, you need to satisfy your customers. If you're sensing that they're getting frustrated because of longer wait times and this type of thing, you need to find a solution for that.”

That solution could mean building multiple locations in the same general area. Chick-fil-A is testing that theory by preparing to open another store along Polaris Parkway later this spring. This location will sit 1.7 miles from the other new location, on the east side of the I-71 interchange.  

That makes four locations of the store within five miles of each other. 

Putting multiple locations of the same restaurant or gas station in close proximity began with the rise of Starbucks. The coffee conglomerate operates more than 17,000 stores nationally, and several are located extremely close to another Starbucks. 

"It's easier from a management perspective,” Hipsher said. “You might have a district manager that covers multiple locations. You might have the ability to share staffing resources, and having kind of a critical mass or a critical number of locations makes everything really cheaper." 

He said multiple locations also mean saving money on potential advertising/marketing expenses.

Chick-fil-A is not the only company using the multiple-location strategy in that part of town. Sheetz gas stations continue to pop up all across central Ohio, and that's certainly true at Polaris. A location is open at 920 Polaris Parkway as drivers travel west, away from the mall area. A new location is under construction next to the new Chick-fil-A, close to the I-71 interchange. And, yes, there's another location about a mile away on the other side of I-71.  

Many gas stations and quick-service restaurants are placed where drivers can prioritize making a right turn to easily access them. It's a strategy of "left-turn avoidance" that many quick-service companies find appealing. 

"On a gas station, convenience might be more important when you're thinking about, 'Oh, this is the gas station I go to on my way to work,'" Hipsher said. "And so, it's, ‘I want the one that's on the right side of the street because it's just easy to get in and out of.’"  

Putting locations close together, but on both sides of the road, allows companies the chance to recruit customers both on their way to, and from, work. 

While the brands might be national in scope, the impacts are local. More locations mean more local jobs. Willoughby currently employs about 200 people, with nearly as many jobs to come when his new location opens.

Chick-fil-A said it prioritizes locally based location owners who typically operate no more than a few stores. Willoughby is currently working with Chick-fil-A to find a new owner/operator for his Polaris mall location so he can focus on the two new stores.   

"If I owned 40 restaurants, it's going to be kind of tough to really plug in and get to know that community,” Willoughby said. “Being here locally, I get to know the community and find ways to serve them unique to them.”