College Park’s Little Blue Menu will temporarily close on May 1 for renovations, resulting in the termination of 91 employees.
COR Restaurant Services LLC, a Chick-fil-A subsidiary, filed a Work Adjustment and Retraining Notification on March 14, which notified the Maryland government of the mass layoff of employees.
The notice provides advanced notice of plant closings and mass layoffs to the government, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
The restaurant, which is owned and operated by Chick-fil-A, will reopen in mid- to late-August, according to Michael Williams, College Park’s economic director.
The College Park location is the only one in the country, and offers traditional Chick-fil-A menu items along with special items such as burgers, pizza and wings.
[College Park City Council discusses solutions to residential over-occupancy]
The restaurant is closing for “overall updates,” including adding a dining room for guests, a Chick-fil-A spokesperson wrote in a statement to The Diamondback.
“Little Blue Menu looks forward to remaining a part of the College Park community and continuing to serve our Guests great food and remarkable service,” the spokesperson said.
The restaurant currently only offers outdoor seating, curbside pickup and a small area where customers can wait for their food.
Williams said the restaurant’s employees will receive full severance pay and the opportunity to work at the Silver Spring Chick-fil-A location. They will also be invited to reapply to work at Little Blue Menu when it reopens, he added.
The restaurant’s closure during the summer months will not be that detrimental for the city because business usually decreases because of the University of Maryland’s summer break, Williams explained. The renovations will help the restaurant prepare for increased crowds in the future, he added.
