Bellevue is just the beginning for Chick-fil-A’s expansion into the Puget Sound region and its other two Washington locations slated to open in 2015 still the tip of the iceberg. In all, the Atlanta-based chain plans to open up to 20 stores here by 2020.

“In all honesty, guys, this is a dream come true for us,” said Blake Goodman, Chick-fil-A real estate director, during Wednesday’s groundbreaking at the Bellevue store location on Northeast Eighth Street, slated to be the first of three Washington chains to open next spring.

Chick-fil-A has been planning its Bellevue opening since 2009, Goodman said, far less time than the company has been receiving customer requests to do so. It also plans to open stores in Lynnwood and Tacoma in 2015, but the Bellevue location will be the first and is tentatively set to open in March. The Bellevue location will also be the first to be constructed using a new, modern design.

“We have never built this building before,” Goodman said. “We’re excited to see what it looks like.”

Valerie Escoffrey-Artis will operate the Bellevue chain, her first Chick-fil-A. The mother-of-two from southern California will receive operators training before relocating to Bellevue ahead of the restaurant’s opening.

“This is one operator’s sole source of income,” Goodman said.

He told the Reporter he is already researching as many as eight other locations in the Puget Sound region for Chick-fil-A’s expansion, and the company plans to open 16-20 more stores by 2020. The company was founded in 1967, and has more than 1,850 restaurants in 41 states.

“It’s a dynamic market, and we didn’t think we would be able to get here,” he said of a Bellevue location. The company first attempted to acquire the Wendy’s restaurant downtown but declined the high price.

Bellevue City Councilmember John Stokes told a crowd at Wednesday’s groundbreaking the Chick-fil-A site, formerly a Denny’s restaurant, is located in an area that will see a surge of redevelopment over the next several years, as East Link light rail comes into the area.

“This was a brilliant location choice,” he said.