ASSOCIATED PRESS

The City of Williamsport is being eyed as a possible host location of a Chick-fil-A, the restaurant chain specializing in chicken sandwiches, salads and dipping sauces that is headquartered in Atlanta, and making a push for building locations across Pennsylvania, the Sun-Gazette has learned.

“While we are still early in the process, Chick-fil-A is happy to share that we are actively pursuing a new location in Williamsport,” said Chick-fil-A Inc.

“We are excited by the prospect of joining this community, where each locally owned and operated restaurant creates 80 to 120 jobs,” they added.

“We hope to have the opportunity to serve new guests delicious food in an environment of genuine hospitality,” they said.

Chick-fil-A, meanwhile, now operates 3,059 restaurants in the U.S. as of January and it was making a push to have more restaurants in this region of Pennsylvania..

As a sidenote, Texas has the most number of these restaurants at 495. Georgia and Florida follow with 259 and 246, respectively. Today, nearly 40 states are home to Chick-Fil-A restaurants, according to the official Chick-fil-A corporate website.

At the restaurant’s headquarters, Chick-fil-A owners-operators are described as full-time, hands-on leaders in their restaurants and communities.

These are local individuals who care for their community and serve customers food made with high-quality ingredients, according to the company’s website.

The company has a long history in the U.S. It opened its doors for the first time in 1946 in Georgia, but that first restaurant was called Dwarf Grill – not Chick-Fil-A.

The exact location of the new Chick-fil-A has not been released by the firm.

During the planning stage for the Wawa, Famvest Partners, the State College developers, told City Council that their intention was to first see construction of the convenience market and gas station at what they called Maynard Commons, followed by continuing their ongoing negotiations with a nationally-recognized restaurant chain. Negotiations were not made public as the company has non-disclosure agreements. Council approved both the use of about $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds for the infrastructure of the site and authorized the land development plan of Wawa.

The Wawa is under construction directly across from the main entrance to the campus of the Pennsylvania College of Technology, with easy access to all parts of the city and Interstate 180, along with Greater Williamsport communities..

Karen Vibert-Kennedy, Sun-Gazette news and media editor, contributed to this article.