Chick-fil-A will open its restaurant near Publix next Wednesday and it will have a familiar owner and operator.

The quick-service restaurant chain announced Wednesday that David Boykin, who has owned and operated the Chick-fil-A on Northside Drive since 2000, has been selected as the local independent franchise owner. The restaurant will be called Chick-fil-A Eagles Corner.

“Statesboro has been home to my family and me for over two decades, and I want Chick-fil-A Eagles Corner to be a place where people can grow – not just our team members, but our guests and community,” Boykin said. “I look forward to creating a place where everyone can create lasting memories.”

He will continue to operate the Chick-fil-A on Northside Drive when the Eagles Corner restaurant opens on May 8.

The restaurant is located at 333 Tormenta Way at the corner of Akins Blvd., off the beltway, and is open Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. The new restaurant will also feature “Mobile Thru,” a dedicated lane in the drive-thru where guests can pick up orders placed in advance through the Chick-fil-A app.

“Chick-fil-A’s franchise model is fundamental to the way the restaurant serves others,” the press release said Wednesday. “Most Chick-fil-A restaurants are owned and operated by a single person. This means that Chick-fil-A’s local owners and operators are small business owners, not passive investors, working side-by-side with their team members in their restaurants every day.”

At Eagles Corner Chick-fil-A, Boykin will be responsible for all day-to-day operations of the company, including employing approximately 100 full- and part-time employees, serving customers, maintaining relationships with local organizations and businesses, and directing philanthropic efforts to meet the needs of the Statesboro community.

A Georgia native, Boykin joined Chick-fil-A in 1997 when he took over a local restaurant in Hilton Head. After serving the Hilton Head community for three years, he took over the Chick-fil-A on Northside Drive in 2000.

According to the press release, Chick-fil-A, Inc. has donated $25,000 to Feeding America in honor of the new restaurant. The funds will be distributed to partners in the greater Savannah area to support the fight against hunger.

Additionally, Boykin’s restaurant will participate in the Chick-fil-A Shared Table program, an initiative that directs excess food from the restaurant to local soup kitchens, homeless shelters, food banks and nonprofits that need it. To date, over 25 million meals have been prepared using donations from over 2,000 Chick-fil-A restaurants in the U.S. and Canada, the press release states.

Additionally, Chick-fil-A Eagles Corner is recognizing 100 local heroes who have distinguished themselves in the Statesboro area by providing them with free entrees for a year.

Chick-fil-A, Inc. is the third-largest quick-service restaurant company in the United States. More than 200,000 employees are employed as independent owners and operators in over 3,000 restaurants in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. In 2023, the company announced plans to expand into Europe and Asia by 2030.

The family-owned and operated private company was founded in 1967 by S. Truett Cathy.