Little Blue Menu, a delivery kitchen concept that’s an affiliate of Chick-fil-A, launched its pilot location in Nashville, Tenn. An Atlanta location will follow in 2022.
Picture a thick-cut pork belly BLT, garden-fresh salad, crispy Chick-fil-A Waffle Potato Fries and bone-in wings. This is one example of an online delivery order.
Little Blue Menu is named after Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy’s original blue menu at the Hapeville Dwarf House, which he was continually changing to give customers what they wanted most. It’s where he invented (and customers taste-tested) the Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich and served staples like hamburgers, collard greens and lemon pie.
Built upon the passion to give customers more of what they want, Little Blue Menu is intended to delight Nashvillians with tasty food and unparalleled delivery service. The delivery kitchen concept features three new virtual restaurants, as well as tried-and-true Chick-fil-A menu options, offering meal solutions to families and friends who each want something different, but need it to arrive in one order. Now, by launching these virtual restaurants in conjunction with Chick-fil-A, guests can enjoy the food they love, without having to sacrifice variety, convenience or safe service.
Introducing New Virtual Restaurants
The Little Blue Menu concept grew from testing and tweaking hundreds of recipes until the virtual restaurant identities were born: Flock & Farm, Garden Day and Outfox Wings. Whether it’s with homemade marinades or an oven-roasted chicken, flavor is the central theme across the virtual restaurants.
“The flavor profiles are fantastic,” said L.J. Yankosky, senior director of the beyond the restaurant team at Chick-fil-A. “The culinary team that developed the virtual restaurants is world-class, and the ingenuity they harnessed for each menu does not disappoint.”
Yankosky isn’t the only one excited about the menus Senior Culinary Lead Developer Stuart Tracy created from scratch. As a former chef at multiple upscale restaurants in Charleston, S.C. and Atlanta, Tracy has gained a reputation for making elegant yet approachable food, which he brought to the virtual restaurants.
“There are so many great menu options to choose from, but I’m particularly excited about the delicious oven-roasted chicken from Flock & Farm,” Yankosky added. “The restaurant features marinades made fresh in-house, which were perfected by Stuart and his team.”
Kanika Patrick, who is leading marketing for Little Blue Menu, said the team behind the virtual restaurants is hungry for customer feedback. Each virtual restaurant and the menu it serves will continue to evolve based on customer input; and the first Little Blue Menu locations will operate as prototypes before launching at a greater scale.
“After the Nashville pilot opens and customers share their honest opinions about the virtual restaurants, we will have the opportunity to tweak or add new menu items,” Patrick sayid.
For each order, guests will receive a link via text message to participate in a customer satisfaction survey. Their feedback just might shape the next dishes delivered by Little Blue Menu.
A Different Kind of Delivery
Beyond offering a next-level culinary experience, delivery will be another offering that sets the new venture apart. The team assembling Little Blue Menu’s building blocks has channeled the Chick-fil-A entrepreneurial spirit to rethink how a food delivery model could work.
“Delivery is here to stay,” stated John Moore, one of the three Chick-fil-A franchised operators who will oversee the Little Blue Menu delivery kitchen in Nashville. “Now more than ever, customers want a variety of options delivered quickly, right to their doorstep.”
The delivery radius for the Little Blue Menu Nashville facility, located on Church Street between 17th and 16th Ave. N, will be approximately 10 minutes. But delivery isn’t just about speed – drivers will deliver bundled meals with the help of hybrid electric vehicles, adding to the experience for when hunger strikes.
“We are committed to bringing a level of service, professionalism and hospitality to the delivery process,” Moore said. “Our guests can expect the level of trustworthy service they’re accustomed to with Chick-fil-A.”
Little Blue Menu is the latest concept Chick-fil-A is prototyping as a potential addition to its portfolio, which includes delivery-focused restaurants. Just three years ago, the company’s first delivery-focused restaurant launched in Nashville, Tenn., and the site will now house the Little Blue Menu delivery kitchen as well.