Tampa Chick-Fil-A Uncovers A Secret

Author Orlando

June 22nd, 2023 2:01 PM

I was today years old as a Tampa Chick-fil-A uncovers a secret with their drive-thru experience I wasn’t ready for. The location is 2811 E. Fowler Ave, just shy of our USF campus. It’s there that I now bring you “mobile thru“. As you see in the social media post below, tens of cars did the norm of lining up in the normal chicken distribution space. We’re all fans of the Jesus chicken, we know the line very well. The team moves is very well but my rush made me park and opt to do an online order and that’s where I found magic! It’s clear many don’t want me to share the Tampa Chick-Fil-A uncovers a secret.

It’s so confusing because the comments read “don’t tell people the secret” and “mobile ordering is the wave“. Yet at least 30 cars were in the normal line while the mobile thru was empty. Not only is it faster but I did it on the website. The app apparently is straight Aladdin. A whole new world! Insta-friend lalalaura728 let me know the she’s “a signature member with 74,443 points“. Wait…WHAT? Not only do we have chicken from our Lord but frequent flyer miles too?

According to this information found on the site, there are crazy amount of perks for being a points gatherer with Chick-Fil-A One. Lalalaura btw, has the highest status at the signature level so my work is cut out for me. There is nothing more disheartening than pulling into the drive-thru lane and hitting a line. The presence of the line is nothing to a spicy nugget aficionado, but the number of cars unaware is still in my head. Why don’t they know the sweet joy that awaits in the empty lane? Time to spread the word!

Orlando Davis is host of “Orlando and the Freakshow” on WiLD 94-1. He has been with the station for the past 26 years and is the station's award-winning Program Director of the year numerous times, as well as other titles. Working closely with record labels and artists, a lot of Orlando's content comes from those conversations and access. However, helming the Bay's craziest morning show makes way for lots of local influence in what he brings to the WiLD content team. Inside and outside of the studio, O is never shy to share.

The Best 10 Tampa Chick-fil-A Stores: Ranked

Chick-fil-A is one of the many food staples here in Florida. While some may find it overrated, we think it’s the most consistent fast food company there is. Chick-fil-A prides themselves on great customer service and a quality product. But you know people on the internet will always have their own opinion. So we decided to rank the best Tampa Chick-fil-A stores based on customer reviews. Here’s what we found.

You can almost always count on there being a line at any Chick-fil-A location, especially during peak hours. So it’s not uncommon that some people will avoid a certain location because the drive-thru is always backed up or they don’t like how the building/drive-thru lanes are structured. Chick-fil-A was also one of the first companies that had employees taking orders in the drive thru lane to help speed up the process.

There are over 20 Chick-fil-A locations across Tampa. To help save time, we left out the locations at malls, schools, Busch Gardens, and the airport. Meaning we’ll just be ranking the stand alone stores across Tampa. These locations can range from Temple Terrace to South Tampa and even Brandon. Note: we also left out the Bearss Ave location since it is currently being remodeled.

How we created the Tampa Chick-fil-A rankings:

First, we went to www.chick-fil-a.com/locations and searched for Tampa. We initially had less than 10 results but expanded our search to show all of their locations. Then we looked at how that store ranked based on the number of Google reviews and the rating. Remember these are not our reviews, just gathering what other people have been saying. Some people just love to complain on the internet, so we don’t judge based off other people’s reviews. Odds are if we’re hungry for Chick-fil-A, a couple of internet opinions aren’t going to stop us.

These are the best Tampa Chick-fil-A stores, ranked:

1. Waters Ave
Location: 6299 W Waters Ave, Tampa

Rating: 4.6

Number of reviews: 5,743

What people are saying: This location mostly has 4 and 5 star reviews. Many have commented that it’s the BEST Chick-fil-A in the area. Most of the glowing reviews are about their Christmas lights display during the holidays. Which, if you’ve never seen it, you should check it out! They deck out the entire location in lights!

(Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
2. E. Brandon/Valrico
Location: 1504 E Brandon Blvd, Brandon

Rating: 4.6

Number of reviews: 3,588

What most people are saying: Super clean place plus fast and friendly service. If there is a negative review, the store owner has responded and tried to correct it!

BBGI
3. Temple Terrace
Location: 5302 E Fowler Ave, Temple Terrace

Rating: 4.5

Number of reviews: 5,103

What people are saying: This location seems to have some constant problems, but the staff is normally kind enough to quickly correct them.

(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
4. North Dale Mabry
Location: 15801 N Dale Mabry Hwy, Carrollwood

Rating: 4.5

Number of reviews: 2,772

What people are saying: Most people say that food and customer service is good. People are mainly complaining about the way the drive-thru is set up.

(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
5. Lake Brandon Village
Location: 11325 Causeway Blvd, Brandon

Rating: 4.4

Number of reviews: 3,904

What people are saying: Most experiences are good but some are disappointing. People say the staff is nice but they often get orders wrong or incomplete.

(Photo Illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
6. South Dale Mabry
Location: 609 S Dale Mabry Hwy, Tampa, FL

Rating: 4.3

Number of reviews: 2,928

What people are saying: There are a few bad reviews among hundreds of good ones. Most people are saying that the staff here is very friendly and the restaurant runs really well.

(Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
7. Gandy Blvd
Location: 3678 W Gandy Blvd, Tampa

Rating: 4.3

Number of reviews: 2,637

What people are saying: We noticed that in the past 8 months this location has gotten some pretty bad reviews based off of incorrect orders. However, the store owner has responded to all of the bad reviews and has offered to make it right. They even asked for the person’s Chick-fil-A app username so maybe they can send them a reward.

(Photo Illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
8. Uptown District
Location: 2811 E Fowler Ave, Tampa

Rating: 4.2

Number of reviews: 2,522

What people are saying: Little complaints on food quality but most people express their dissatisfaction with the drive-thru line.

(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
9. West Hillsborough
Location: 8465 W Hillsborough Ave, Tampa

Rating: 4.2

Number of reviews: 174 (this is a brand new location so that’s why there aren’t as many reviews as other locations).

What people are saying: It seemed like the new location was working through some kinks but have since upped their speed. Some complaints mention the online orders aren’t accurate.

(Photo Illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
10. Tampa Stadium
Address: 2551 N Dale Mabry Hwy, Tampa, FL

Rating: 3.8

Number of reviews: 2,959

What people are saying: A lot of complaints state that this store is usually understaffed and the drive-thru takes “forever”. However we did notice that the store owner responds to most of the complaints and tries to offer a solution, which is nice.

(Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)