Chick-fil-A's first Morris County location is under construction in Morris Plains and expected to open in February.

The popular fast food restaurant with the crispy chicken sandwiches and folksy motto of cows urging all to "Eat Mor Chikin" will open in the Briarcliff Commons Shopping Center off routes 10 and 202.

"Myself and my family are absolutely ecstatic that a Chick-fil-A is coming to town. We love the flavor," said borough resident Alicia Martini.

The Morris Plains zoning board of adjustment earlier this year approved an application by Morris Plains Holding UE LLC to build a 4,836-square-foot, free-standing Chick-fil-A restaurant with a drive-thru.

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"Everyone's talking about it. They can't wait 'till it's open," Mayor Frank Druetzler said.

There are 36 Chick-fil-A restaurants in New Jersey, four of them in North Jersey with two in Paramus, one in Union and one in Englewood.

The eatery will be located near the Verizon store in the L-shaped shopping center that is sometimes referred to by local residents as the Kohl's shopping center, after its largest store.

The shopping center has 176,000 square feet of retail space and includes one other restaurant, a Chipotle, along with GameStop, Pro Haircutters, Harmon's, a Halloween store, nail salon and other stores.

This week, excavators were on-site preparing for the restaurant's foundation and underground pipes to be laid.

A spokesperson at Chick-fil-A's corporate headquarters in Georgia did not respond to a request for additional details. A spokesperson for Urban Edge Properties in Paramus, which owns the shopping center, also did not respond to a request for comment.

While Chick-fil-A is under construction, Briarcliff Commons businesses and storefronts are undergoing renovations to update facades.

The family-owned, privately-held Chick-fil-A company was started in 1967 in Georgia by S. Truett Cathy. Today, there are 2,300 Chick-fil-As in 47 states, according to the company website.

The eatery is known for its fresh chicken sandwiches on buns, nuggets, biscuits and special sauces. Chick-fil-A locations are not open on Sundays in keeping with the company tradition of spirituality and family values, its website states.

Earlier this year the corporation revealed that its most popular menu item is the fries and not the crispy chicken sandwich.

"Although I do crave chicken on Sundays I respect their values," Martini, the Chick-fil-A fan said. "I like the concept that they stand by their values. It seems a change from corporate America."

Tractor-trailer deliveries will occur between midnight and 7 a.m. and box trucks can make deliveries only between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m., according to the zoning board resolution.

Keeping the borough's commercial zones healthy was cited in the board's decision.

"Approval of this application represents the first step in an overall revitalization and modernization of the shopping center consistent with the intent and purpose of the master plan which seeks to maintain and enhance viability of commercial districts," the board's decision reads.

Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@GannettNJ.com.

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