Mobile County Commissioners have signed off on a monthlong trial that will bring a Chick-fil-A food service counter into Government Plaza, giving jurors, county employees and downtown visitors a new option for breakfast and lunch without leaving the building.
The commission voted 2-1 on Monday to approve a memorandum of understanding with the downtown Chick-fil-A location on Royal Street, which will prepare food off-site and bring it into the Government Plaza lobby for a limited test run. No exact start date has been set, but county officials expect the pilot to begin sometime in early April, timed to coincide with a stretch when multiple jury trials are scheduled at the courthouse.
Under the agreement, breakfast service would run from 7 to 9 a.m. and lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The initial trial is set to last one week, though Chick-fil-A has the option to extend it up to three weeks so the company can better gauge foot traffic at different times of day.
Commission President Connie Hudson said the arrangement mirrors a model Chick-fil-A already uses at other “additional distribution point” locations around the region. At Government Plaza, the temporary counter would be set up near the building’s Government Street entrance, in the same area currently used for absentee voting.
The menu will include chicken biscuits, yogurt, orange juice and canned drinks in the morning, followed by chicken sandwiches and side or market salads at midday. Notably absent from the agreement is any mention of the chain’s signature waffle fries.
Chick-fil-A will supply its own sales counter, register and seating for roughly 100 people. The county, in turn, will allow the company to use existing sinks and a walk-in refrigerator in the building’s kitchen so it can meet public health requirements for off-site food preparation.
Financially, the county will collect 10 percent of Chick-fil-A’s pre-tax sales generated at the Government Plaza location, which Hudson described as a form of rent for the space. “We’re not giving anything away. We can’t by law,” she said.
Hudson framed the trial as a convenience measure rather than a long-term commitment just yet. “This is a trial period to see if it works for us and also to see if it’s something they’re interested in pursuing,” she said. “It’s primarily for convenience. We have weeks where several juries are coming in and out as well as our employees. This just provides another option.”
The county solicited proposals from off-site food vendors last November, and Hudson said Chick-fil-A was the only company to respond. Commissioner Merceria Ludgood voted against issuing that request for proposals and later opposed the resulting contract, though both measures passed by 2-1 votes with support from Commissioner Jerry Carl.
Ludgood has repeatedly raised concerns about the county wading into the restaurant business, noting that other food vendors and a Starbucks location have struggled to succeed inside Government Plaza over the years. Her chief objection, she said, is that the county shouldn’t be competing with private businesses downtown.
“Over the last several years we’ve been encouraging investment downtown, and I just think it’s counterproductive for us to bring in another entity that could undermine some of the traffic those restaurants get,” Ludgood said. “They’re going to avoid overhead and they’re going to be using our equipment, and that just creates — in my judgment — kind of unfair competition.”
Ludgood said her opposition has nothing to do with past controversies surrounding Chick-fil-A’s corporate leadership or the charitable groups the company has supported, which have previously drawn national criticism, including a decision last week by the San Antonio City Council to block the chain from opening a location in that city’s airport.
Hudson said she has not heard negative feedback locally, either about the company’s corporate associations or about the prospect of a food option inside Government Plaza hurting nearby restaurants. “This is supply and demand. We put out an RFP and anybody could have responded,” Hudson said. “A lot of the restaurateurs I talked with personally said they’re so busy right now they can’t expand, and I think rising waters here are going to float all ships as far as downtown goes.”
Government Plaza once housed a large working kitchen, but Hudson said much of that equipment has since been sold off or is no longer operable. While Chick-fil-A will make use of some of the existing space, restoring the full kitchen to service would require a significant capital investment, she said.
Hudson added that if the trial proves successful for both the county and Chick-fil-A, the arrangement could become permanent and potentially expand to include additional food vendors serving the hundreds of people who pass through Government Plaza each week. “This is a trial that I think could possibly lead to something like a food court,” Hudson said. “Chick-fil-A is not the only company that does this kind of model, and it could potentially open the door for others. Chick-fil-A has also said they’re fine with that as well.”
Ludgood said she would oppose any move toward a full food court inside the building as well.
A firm date for the trial run has not yet been finalized. County officials say they will announce the schedule once both parties agree on timing, with Hudson reiterating that the goal is to test the setup during a period when multiple jury trials are drawing heavier foot traffic to the courthouse.