Scott Deviney

Atlanta Parent spoke with Scott Deviney, Chicken Salad Chick President and CEO. He is father to Conner, 14, Coleman, 12, and Abbey, 10.

What new activity have you and your family started enjoying during this time?

While we are spending an unprecedented amount of time together, we haven’t really added anything new except family bike rides. It would be great if we could continue those on the other side of this pandemic, but I’m not sure how patient Atlanta drivers will be with our caravan of five cruising down the middle of the road.

How are you balancing working at home with home/family responsibilities?

Like everyone else, we are making it work as best we can and stretching the limits of our internet bandwidth. The kids each have virtual school daily, and I am almost exclusively working from home. I have certainly learned it can be challenging to find quiet space with a family of five and a dog. I also no longer wonder what my wife does all day and am baffled at how much food my kids can consume daily.

Do you have any meals that are your specialty?

I am certainly the family grill master but also dabble in the kitchen a bit. My wife and I make a great team—I grill, she does everything else. I am also quite excellent at placing the family Chicken Salad Chick takeout order.

Any at-home projects you have been able to tackle?

We are in the middle of remodeling our home, so the list of projects is endless. I might still be working on this list when the next pandemic hits.

Any funny dad/kid(s) moments from this time?

I did make plans to take my boys fishing a few weeks into all this craziness back in April, which is normally a great time to fish. Normally. The weather was perfect….right up until the day we were scheduled to go. On that particular day, we had nonstop wind gusts at around 20 mph. The fishing was terrible and the boating was even worse. It was also unseasonably cold, and my boys were not at all dressed for it. I’m not sure they want to spend a day on a boat with me again any time soon.

How do you plan to celebrate Father’s Day?

I am expecting this to be a very low key Father’s Day. We will likely grill at home, and my wife will make all my favorites, including peanut butter pie. Probably not fishing.

Any other advice for dads during this time?

My wife made a comment this week that although we are all in the same storm right now, we aren’t all in the same boat. She had read the comparison, and it really resonated with her as many are condemning others for the choice to stay home and others for the choice to return to work. Every father has his own story, and each of us are working hard to take care of our loved ones and others that depend on us. I would just say focus on what really matters, do the best you can, and enjoy this time with those you love. I hope this will all come to an end soon. When it does, the hustle of life and work will overtake everything else, and I hope you have created some lasting memories during this time to reflect back on when the world hits go.