By TR Robertson
The day after our state and nations election process the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee brought more news to residents of Carlsbad about business coming to Carlsbad and other important governmental issues. Chamber CEO Bret Schanzenbach started things off with the introduction of Co-Chair, newly elected Carlsbad City Councilmember Teresa Acosta, who introduced the committee members to representatives from the Chick-fil-A Company who were making a presentation about the proposed new restaurant coming to Carlsbad.
Representatives Jennifer Daw, Phil Roth, Leah Loveland and Arlene Tendick were on hand from Chick-fil-A. Jennifer Daw led the Committee through a detailed explanation of the Chick-fil-A company and the proposed location of the restaurant. Chick-fil-A was founded in Georgia in 1946 and has grown to a 2,500-restaurant chain bringing in over $12 billion dollars in sales and selling over 7 billion chicken sandwiches. There are currently 14 restaurant locations in San Diego County including North County locations in Oceanside, Encinitas, San Marcos, and Escondido. The proposed location for Carlsbad would be at 5850 Avenida Encinas along Carlsbad’s restaurant row that includes McDonald’s, Draft Republic Carlsbad, and In-n-Out. Chick-fil-A would be taking over the small office building next to In-n-Out, removing the building to construct the restaurant.
Since 1998, the Carlsbad Municipal Code does not allow any drive-thru restaurants, so this Chick-fil-A will not have a drive-thru.
The presenters stated there are several of their restaurants in the nation that don’t have drive-thrus and they are quite successful. She said with GrubHub, DoorDash and the Chick-fil-A App they feel even with the lack of a drive-thru they will be successful and even more so once they are allowed to open up their doors for indoor customers. She said a drive-thru could be added later if the Carlsbad Code ever changes. Along with the restaurant, a new traffic signal would be added, and the entrance driveway would be widened leading to the restaurant. Also, a cross walk would be added allowing customer access from businesses across the street. The building would be energy efficient with the addition of solar panels. It was pointed out that since 1973, Chick-fil-A has given over $75 million in educational scholarships. Public Hearings are scheduled for early 2021 and then they will be seeking Coastal Commission approval. No operator (franchisee) has been named yet. It was also pointed out, Chick-fil-A will continue their tradition of offering the first 100 people at the opening to receive a free chicken sandwich each week for one year. The Government Affairs Committee voted to support the Chick-fil-A proposal recommendation to be sent to the Chamber Board of Directors.
The next presenter was Hooman Borghei from Passpoint. Passpoint is an online tool created to track COVID in business workplaces. Passpoint Digital Contact tracking identifies high risk exposures, automatically notifies employees of potential exposure with automated daily screenings. The process online is very user friendly with a short series of questions that take about 10 seconds to answer and send. The process is Cloud Based with no app downloads and no new hardware needed. There is strict access control with secure HTTPS data connections, no Data Sharing and no GPS tracking. Once the individual completes the short questionnaire there is instant notifications when identified with automated emails sent and a daily compliance report for the employer. Hooman said the Goal of this system is to identify at-risk employees, identify close contacts, sort employees at highest risk and give instant feedback. The Administrative dashboard makes data driven decisions and instant communication. The system protects businesses, improves, and simplifies compliance, and protects businesses with liability issues. The cost for this to business is 0-5 employees – free, 6-50 employees – $49 a month and 51-100 employees – $99 a month. Go to www.getpasspoint.com/try-passport for a free 14 day trial or e mail Hooman at Hooman@getpasspoint.com for questions.
Additional Reports:
Matthew Phy from State Senator Patricia Bates – EDD has worked out a new system to deal with business applications, the Legislature is still on recess and Senator Bates earned an A rating from the California Chamber for work on protecting business.
Kristal Jabara from County Supervisor Jim Desmond’s Office – The Supervisor is still working on getting local control for COVID reopening’s, also working on problems dealing with an increase of drug cases and growing mental health issues, unemployment concerns especially in the tourist industry and SANDAG road improvements.
Jason Haber from the City of Carlsbad – reported on a short update on some of the voting results in the elections. Catherine Magana gave a report on the “Job Killer” update of SB 1383, the bill that says it is unlawful for an employer of 50 or more employees to refuse a request by an employee to have 12 workweeks leave for the birth of a child.
Carlsbad Chamber CEO Bret Schanzenbach stated that 18 of 19 Bills considered “job killers’ were stopped. Chamber networking events continue and a meeting with Poway Chamber is in the works. December 9th the Chamber will be virtually honoring volunteers and committees that are so important to the Chamber and all the activities the Chamber is involved with over the past year.
The next Carlsbad Chamber Government Affairs meeting will be December 2nd.
