Chick-fil-A owners have ties to Daytona area. Here's what we know.
DAYTONA BEACH — As local franchisee Chris Kirby gets ready to build a new standalone Chick-fil-A restaurant near Daytona International Speedway, here's a reminder of the Atlanta, Georgia-based chain's ties to Volusia County.
Chick-fil-A's founder had a vacation home here
The late S. Truett Cathy and his wife Jeannette for years spent their winters in New Smyrna Beach where they owned vacation properties. Cathy died in 2014 at age 93. His wife died the next year at age 92. His family still owns vacation homes here. Their company owns the Chick-fil-A Lodge at the Sugar Mill Golf & Country Club in New Smyrna Beach.
S. Truett Cathy believed in compassion
When two pre-teen girls vandalized the Chick-fil-A Lodge in 2008, Cathy decided to punish them in an unusual way. Instead of pressing charges and making their parents pay for the $30,000 in needed repairs, he simply required the girls to be banned for six months from playing video games and watching television. He also made them write "I will not vandalize other people's property" 1,000 times and to read a "good book" daily and send him book reports.
S. Truett Cathy was not a fan of 'bad words'
Cathy said he was most upset by the "bad words" the girls scrawled throughout the lodge, a facility used by charitable groups. "I wanted to show them there was a better way than the way they were going," he told The Daytona Beach News-Journal following the incident. "I am not after money. I am after their attention."
READ THE STORY: Chick-fil-A founder explains why he chose not to press charges on the kids who vandalized his property
PATH TO SUCCESS: Cathy gave a local talk about what led to the launching of his restaurant chain
ROLE MODEL: Local entrepreneur/philanthropist L. Gale Lemerand says he finds inspiration in Cathy's life story
Cathy once gave a talk at Daytona State College
Cathy in 2008 gave a talk at Daytona State College as the inaugural speaker for a lecture series on entrepreneurship sponsored by Ormond Beach philanthropist L. Gale Lemerand. He spoke about how as owner of a small diner near Atlanta he came up with a way to make pressure-cooked patties out of left-over chicken scraps from a poultry company. The popularity of his chicken sandwiches led to the creation of the Chick-fil-A chain. "That's been my life," he said. "Taking advantage of unexpected opportunities."
Chick-fil-A's founder was a role model to others
Lemerand, majority owner of Stonewood Grill restaurants, said Cathy was an "inspiration" for holding true to his Christian faith and for his support of charitable causes. Lemerand in 2014 also recalled being impressed by Cathy's humbleness and ability to give a speech without notes.
Cathy tested a new (short-lived) restaurant concept here
Cathy tried out a new restaurant concept here called the Marko's Chick-fil-A Heritage Inn which was at 5420 S. Ridgewood Ave. in Port Orange from 2000 to 2005. The eatery was originally a drive-in called Marko's Heritage Inn that began in the mid-1950s and was owned by the family that today operates the Aunt Catfish's on the River seafood restaurant on the west end of the Dunlawton Bridge.
Cathy used to eat at Marko's and bought it when it closed in 1999. He renovated it and reopened it as a buffet that also had regular sit-down dining and fast-food menus. It didn't pan out.
Volusia Mall was Chick-fil-A's first-ever Volusia County location
Chick-fil-A hit the mall when it arrived in Volusia County, opening a location in Daytona Beach's Volusia Mall in October 1974 as one of the enclosed shopping center's first tenants. That location closed in 2015.
Bigger new restaurant coming to ISB
Kirby on Jan. 23 tore down the old Chick-fil-A building that opened in 1994 at 100 N. Williamson Blvd., Daytona Beach. He plans to build a bigger restaurant that will include two drive-through service lanes. It is expected to open this summer.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona Beach was a favorite winter haven for Chick-fil-A founder
