Late-night access to fresh, branded food—no line, no staff, six days a week
Chick-fil-A is testing a new way to “eat mor chikin” in Augusta: a temperature-controlled “market fridge” located at Wellstar Children’s Hospital of Georgia. The short-term pilot offers hospital employees and visitors quick access to fresh items when traditional dining options are closed. In keeping with Chick-fil-A policy, the unit is not available on Sundays.
What’s on the menu
The market fridge currently features:
- Chick-fil-A Cool Wrap (grilled chicken, lettuce, cheeses in flatbread)
- Southwest Veggie Wrap (zesty vegetarian option)
- Chick-fil-A Waffle Potato Chips (two flavors)
How it works
- Cashless checkout: accepts credit/debit only
- On-site replenishment: stocked by local Chick-fil-A team members from the on-campus location
- Temperature-controlled storage: keeps items food-safe and ready when staff need them most
- Availability: 24 hours, Monday–Saturday (closed Sundays)
Why it matters for hospitals
Hospitals run 24/7—even when cafeterias don’t. For night shifts, off-hours visitors, and teams moving between units, unattended fresh-food access removes friction:
- Speed: Grab-and-go with no queue or service counter
- Consistency: Fresh, branded options when other venues are closed
- Operations: No additional on-site staffing required to extend access
The bigger trend
Chick-fil-A has experimented with new service formats before, including a Southeast autonomous delivery pilot that concluded in fall 2024. Across the industry, fresh-food vending and automated pickup continue to expand—from early “cupcake ATMs” to today’s hot-food and refrigerated solutions—reflecting demand for round-the-clock convenience in places like hospitals, airports, and campuses.
KO’s role
Kiosk Operators supports deployments like this with purpose-built, temperature-controlled systems and enterprise-grade remote management—engineered for high-traffic environments and backed by U.S.-based support. Our platform integrates with existing workflows and payment systems, enabling partners to scale unattended access without operational headaches.
We don’t ask our customers to change their systems—we design ours to work with them.
See it in action: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/dcOlXY2sIQQ Explore KO market fridges and hot-food kiosks: (Link to your product page or brochure.)
Original reporting credited to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution with additional early coverage by the Augusta Chronicle. Subscription may be required to read external articles.