Alexandria Living Magazine
Fiona's in Kingstowne
Last spring, Chick-fil-A announced it had plans to open a drive-through restaurant at the former Fiona's Irish pub and restaurant in Kingstowne Center.
But the signs for Fiona's are still up and there's no sign of construction at the site.
What's going on?
Like many restaurants in the region and nationwide, Chick-fil-A is struggling to find staff to operate its restaurants.
CBS News reported this week that the chain is actually closing some dining rooms and moving to take-out and drive-through only, and minimum orders for catering.
At least one location in Alabama was seeing far fewer applicants, people not showing up for interviews or "accepting a job only to resign within their first couple weeks," Brad Johnson, a Chick-fil-A manager, told CBS News.
Chick-fil-A is joining multiple national chains in offering scholarship opportunities, discounts on tuition at certain colleges and higher wages in an effort to recruit and retain workers. A team member can earn $10 to $15 per hour and a full-time cashier can up to $17 per hour depending on the Chick-fil-A location, according to job openings listed at the company in Northern Virginia.
Some McDonald's locations in Northern Virginia are offering $15 per hour, and some Burger King locations are offering up to $12 per hour in some locations. Smaller, local restaurants and retailers have also been struggling to hire people.
Minimum wage in Virginia is now $9.50 per hour, which works out to less than $20,000 per year for a full-time job (40 hours per week) with no days off for sick leave or vacation.
There are more than 2,400 Chick-fil-A restaurants across the United States. The closest ones to Alexandria are in Ronald Reagan National Airport, Crystal City, Pentagon City, Falls Church and Springfield.
