by JEN BIUNDO
At one in the afternoon, the hot Texas sun beat down on an asphalt parking lot in a strip mall off a busy interstate. But in place of cars, a bustling tent city had blossomed outside the fast food chain. In a sudden rush of wheels, a father and son on skateboards zoom up to the drive through window, swerving to avoid a giggling group of kids and adults running a relay race with water balloons. It’s just an average day at a Chick-fil-A store opening.
About 220 people showed up in the pre-dawn hours last Wednesday to secure a place in line for the grand opening of the new Chick-fil-A in Kyle. Out of the 220 on the property at 6 a.m., 100 would be selected in a lottery. The lucky winners would then set up their tents, unroll their sleeping bags and spend the next 24 hours camping out in the asphalt parking lot, until the official ribbon cutting early Friday morning. If they made it through the night, they would win a year’s worth of free Chick-fil-A – one meal coupon for 52 weeks.
The events combine the American love affair with fast food with the appeal of a good old fashioned group camp out, and the Chick-fil-A grand openings maintain something of a cult following across the nation.
Last year, 100 people stayed put through a blizzard that dumped 17 inches of snow on a Chick-fil-A parking lot in Fort Collins, Colorado.
It was a different set of nature’s challenges at the Kyle opening, as Texans draped themselves in front of portable fans and slathered their bodies in sunscreen, keeping a half-lidded eye on kids splashing in an inflatable pool in the middle of the drive-through lane.
Students Auby Stephens, 21, and Kaitlin Slaten, 18, lay in lawn chairs near the employee exit, reading magazines and working on their bikini tan. The scene looked a lot like spring break, with the pool swapped out for a dumpster and a fast food chain grease trap.
Slaten, whose boyfriend works at the new franchise, said corporate employees at a pre-opening event convinced her to come to the camp out. They showed up at 4:30 a.m. and both girls won a raffle ticket to stay for the camp out.
“We did have to break our partying habits to get here this early,” Stephens said.
Joe Rice, 23, a Texas State University student, sat in a folding chair in the drive through lane. Under the shade of the menu box, he softly strummed his acoustic guitar. It’s his first time at a Chick-fil-A camp out, and he and a friend showed up because … well, why not?
“I heard about it on FaceBook,” Rice said. “We thought there would be interesting people here.”
And how’s it been?
Instead of cars, the Chick-fil-A parking lot was full of tents, folding chairs and portable fans for the 24-hour camp out. (Photo by Bruce Fisher)
“It’s been hot,” Rice said. “The Chick-fil-A people have been really nice.”
College kids there on a lark made up a good portion of the crowd. But for some parents of hungry teenagers, the 52 coupons, worth more than $300, are the real draw.
Friends Adana Frey and Sheri Hofmann and Hofmann’s mother, Ann Moos, all won the lottery to stick around for the opening. They’re practically pros at the Chick-fil-A camp outs, and have already been at store openings in San Marcos, Parker Heights, Pflugerville and Houston. Make that twice in Houston, Frey said. All three are Buda and Kyle area natives, and they’re thrilled that Chick-fil-A is coming home.
“We’ve been waiting for this store to open for 30 years,” Frey said.
Hofmann, a stay-at-home mom to a 10 and 15-year-old, said she and her two kids love Chick-fil-A and will quickly use up the coupons.
“I would never be able to go into Kohl’s or Target without coming here,” Hofmann said. “It’s definitely worth your time. With our kids, it goes quick. We are die-hard fans.”
Hofmann was celebrating her birthday at the camp out, and said it wasn’t a bad way to commemorate her special day.
“Yeah, actually I’m having a lot of fun,” Hofmann said. “Everyone is so nice and friendly.”
The camp out drew a crowd from beyond the Austin area. Pola Ozuniga and Elva Cummings came down from San Antonio for their sixth and eighth store openings, respectively. They keep on coming back for more because they enjoy the spectacle, they said. They’ve even been featured on the TV show “Night Line.”
“We have fun, they have games, they give prizes, they have a DJ, you can dance,” Ozuniga said.
Cummings said she gives away many of the coupons to friends, family members and other people she encounters, such as receptionists at her doctor’s office.
“I feel sorry because some people don’t get out to eat, and they’re so happy to get them,” she said.
Anthony Baragas, the owner of the new store, has worked at Chick-fil-A’s for 10 years, first as an employee, then as a store manager. This is his first franchise.
“We were kind of unsure what to expect,” Baragas said. “We were kind of surprised at the amount of loyalty to the brand.”
