Chick-fil-A Is Testing a New Pretzel Bun Sandwich & Launching a Line of Cherry Beverages
It's pretty rare to see Chick-fil-A expand its menu with any new offerings, especially in comparison to other major chains that seem to have an endless array of exciting new foods and beverages rolling out every month. But in great news for Chick-fil-A fans, the beloved chicken chain is launching not just one, but five never-before-seen options starting next week.
On April 8, Chick-fil-A will debut a new tavern-inspired entrée: the Pretzel Cheddar Club Sandwich (680 calories). It features a boneless chicken breast with green leaf lettuce, sliced tomato, soft seasoned cheddar cheese, and applewood smoked bacon on a toasted cross-cut pretzel bun. It also comes with a Creamy Dijon Mustard Sauce on the side.
This is the first new sandwich that Chick-fil-A has introduced since it debuted its limited-time Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich in August 2023. The catch, however, is that Chick-fil-A only plans to offer the Pretzel Cheddar Club Sandwich for a limited time at select locations in Raleigh, N.C.
Chick-fil-A uses these limited menu tests to determine whether a new innovation is popular enough to offer it nationwide, so customers can hope that the Raleigh debut is successful enough to support a wider launch in the future.
In better news for Chick-fil-A fans who don't live in Raleigh, the other four new items coming to menus will be available nationwide. An all-new line of Cherry Berry beverages, which feature a "vibrant pop of mixed berry flavors," is slated to hit menus on April 8, according to a press release.
The Cherry Berry collection will include four distinct drinks:
- Cherry Berry Sunjoy (160 calories): Chick-fil-A's classic Sunjoy (a combination of lemonade and sweetened iced tea) blended with cherry, blueberry, and cranberry flavors.
- Cherry Berry Lemonade (180 calories): Classic lemonade mixed with cherry, blueberry, and cranberry flavors.
- Cherry Berry Iced Tea (130 calories): Classic iced tea mixed with cherry, blueberry, and cranberry flavors.
- Cherry Berry Frosted Lemonade (380 calories): Lemonade or diet lemonade blended with Chick-fil-A's vanilla-flavored Icedream dessert and cherry, blueberry, and cranberry flavors.
"Our Guests have always enjoyed both cherry and berry flavors, especially during the spring season," Chick-fil-A Chef Christy Cook said in a statement. "We wanted to explore how to deliver that burst of fruit flavor they love, in a way that is unique to Chick-fil-A and that pairs so well with our menu items."
The Cherry Berry beverages are a seasonal drink line, which means that they won't stick around forever. However, Cook teased in her statement that other new drinks and innovations could be coming to Chick-fil-A in the future.
"Be on the lookout for other exciting beverage flavors to come and maybe a few familiar favorites from the past!" she said.
In other Chick-fil-A news, the chain announced late last month that it will shift its No Antibiotics Ever (NAE) policy on chicken to No Antibiotics Important to Human Medicine (NAIHM). Animals raised under an NAE policy are never administered any antibiotics whatsoever, while NAIHM means that antibiotics can be used to treat animals when they become sick—though the use of antibiotics that are important to human medicine and commonly used to treat people is restricted.
The policy switch means that the chicken Chick-fil-A serves may be administered antibiotics sometime during its lifespan. The chain attributed the change to supply issues and said it will be implemented starting this spring.
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