(Radio Iowa) – A national chicken franchise is coming to the Iowa State University Student Union in Ames. I-S-U’s vice president Sean Reeder presented a proposal for a lease with Chick-fil-A to the Board of Regents.”They would occupy just over two-thousand square feet in the food court area that’s adjacent to our bookstore and the Soultz Family Visitor Center,” Reeder says. He says the chicken chain space was formerly occupied by the Memorial Union Market and Cafe. “This is particularly attractive for our students. In polling by the dining and the Memorial Union staff, students frequently ask for more national brands within our product offerings,” he says. Chick-fil-A is immensely popular with our student population as well as faculty and staff.”

Reeder says the Memorial Union isn’t the only place you could get a hot chicken sandwich under the lease. )”We would also be giving Chick-fil-A the rights to operate portable, temporary kiosks intermittently at different times of the year across campus,” he says. The lease would be for ten years with a mutually agreed upon five-year renewal for a total of 15 years. The I-S-U would receive rent in the form of commission on net sales, starting at four percent in years one through five and escalating to ten percent in years six through ten. Reeder was asked if that would be an increase in what the Memorial Union has made from what had been in the space. “We expect it to not only be greater for the store specifically, but Chick-fil-A also nationally is known for increasing general foot traffic to your student unions,” he says.

Reeder’s presentation came to the Facilities Committee, which approved the lease Wednesday.