Evan Williamson began working at the Chick-fil-A in Noblesville while in high school. The 2007 Noblesville High School graduate then worked summers there while in college.
“I developed a passion for it and loved every day coming to work and serving our guests and working in a fast-paced environment,” he said. “I thought I could do this the rest of my life. I went into the corporate world for a little while and realized there was nothing quite like Chick-fil-A.”
Williamson, a 34-year-old Zionsville resident, will open the first Chick-fil-A in Carmel at 9965 N. Michigan Rd. in late September or early October.
He and his wife, Lauren, a 2007 Carmel High School graduate, met while in high school and went to Indiana University. They moved to Denver for a corporate job but came back to Indiana when they wanted to start a family.
“We took over a Chick-fil-A from an existing owner in Terre Haute in November 2018,” Williamson said. “But we wanted to get closer to him. We had this opportunity to open a brand-new restaurant in Carmel to be close to family. We gave up ownership of the Terre Haute restaurant July 31.”
Before owning the Terre Haute location, Williamson traveled to different Chick-fil-A restaurants nationally as part of its leadership development program.
“At Chick-fil-A, the owner-operator role is pretty hands-on,” he said. “We brought seven employees from Terre Haute to Indianapolis for this opportunity. We’re looking to hire a group of about 125 people when it’s all said and done. A lot of nights and weekends are run by part-timers, like I was in high school and college. It’s a fun crowd to work with but takes a lot of people to get it done.”
One of the Carmel restaurant’s three drive-thru lanes will be devoted to mobile orders.
Lauren owns the Carmel and Zionsville location of Pure Barre, a fitness studio, The couple met in eighth grade when they were both volunteering at Conner Prairie as interpreters and dated through high school. They have two daughters, Avery, 3, and Amelia, 1.
