One of the nation’s most successful fast-food chains is looking to Mattapan and Dorchester for franchise partners with an eye towards possible new locations in the city.

Company executives held a “Chicken Chat” workshop last Thursday (Feb. 6) at Mattapan’s Morning Star Baptist Church. The event — planned with help from state Rep. Russell Holmes and City Councillor Brian Worrell — drew about 30 people.

Holmes noted that his constituents want national retailers like Chick-fil-A to set up shop in Boston neighborhoods. “I would like to have a Chick-fil-A in Black Dorchester, or [anywhere] in Dorchester,” he said. “I want people to be ready to be owners.”

Holmes added: “We’re tired of people just coming into our neighborhood and we help them be successful and reap the benefits and we sit back and are just consumers and renters. If you are a good community partner, you bring investments and make us part of it.”

Chick-fil-A officials say they haven’t yet made any decisions on locations, but noted they are interested in expanding beyond their only Boston store in Copley Square.

“We are growing in three regions: The West, the Midwest, and the Northeast,” said Carlos Mateu, a recruiter and advisor for the Atlanta-based company. “We are continuing to grow in the northeast area, specifically Massachusetts and specifically the Boston proper area.”

On hand for the discussion was Matt DeMichele-Rigoni, the franchise owner who opened the chain’s Copley Square store in 2021 with his husband, Jaoa. The couple did so amid controversy over the corporate office’s policies toward the LGBTQ community.

“You have to be determined to succeed,” said DeMichele. “Opening the first location in Boston, to address the elephant in the room, was not the easiest thing to do, but we had a lot of passion for this…We try to let people know what we’re doing. You have to have that perseverance.”

Lawrence Kibunjah, who operates two locations in Philadelphia, was also on hand for the meeting. He took a question about how his franchise locations hire from surrounding communities— and how criminal background checks might impact hiring locals.

“It’s the franchisee’s decision, and it really comes down to who is in front of you,” he said. In the case of formerly incarcerated people, he said: “They’ve done their time and need to be assimilated back in.”

Worrell encouraged local entrepreneurs to consider Chick-fil-A’s interest in this part of Boston, calling it an “amazing opportunity.”

The process for finding a suitable location rests on the corporate office, according to Mateu, who said once a real estate deal is in place, the company uses a strict set of criteria to find a franchise partner. The vast majority of franchisees, he said, only own one location so they can focus on it and the community around it.

Holmes said each franchise partner must commit $10,000 to be considered, a “low-barrier” up-front investment compared to other franchises. However, franchise owners must commit to working full-time on site.

“If you plan to be a passive owner, or you want to designate someone else as the operator, or if you’re an investor looking to diversify an investment portfolio, this is not right for you,” Mateu said.

Fatima Ali-Salaam, chair of the Greater Mattapan Neighborhood Council (GMNC), was one of several adults who noted how popular the chain is with teens and young adults. She said her college-aged daughter will take the bus into Copley Square from Mattapan to reach Chick-fil-A – saying it’s perceived as “clean food.”

Theresa Latson, of Dorchester United Neighborhood Association, said she fought against a plan by Popeye’s to open a store in Codman Square several years ago, but is more supportive of this effort.

Kenneth Kelly said he and his wife are attracted to the opportunity to be owners – as well as the jobs that it would bring to members of the community. He also likes that the chain is closed on Sundays.

“I think it’s a golden opportunity,” he said after the meeting. “Location is key, but I think anywhere in our neighborhoods of Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan, it will be highly successful…The biggest thing for me is to give our youth, our young men, an opportunity.”