Chick-fil-A Madness: Crowds Already Gathering For Aurora Opening

When we heard about it on an episode of "This American Life," we couldn't quite believe it: hundreds of diehard Chick-fil-A fans camping out--sometimes for days--for free fast food? Well, now the Chick-fil-A madness has come to the Chicagoland area, and we can see it for ourselves.

Tomorrow, the first Chick-fil-A in the area will open in west suburban Aurora--and people plan on spending Wednesday night in the parking lot hoping to win free chicken for a year.

As Gapers Block reports, Chick-fil-A celebrates each grand opening with music, food and a big sandwich giveaway--the first hundred people in line as of 6 a.m. Thursday will win 52 vouchers, each worth a free chicken sandwich.

The Aurora Chick-fil-A, at 4435 Fox Valley Center Dr., is just the beginning of the chain's Chicagoland presence. On October 28, a store will open in Orland Park and in Wheaton on November 11, the Sun-Times reports. Two Chicago outlets are slated for 2011.

WGN's Marcus Leschock went to check out the Aurora crowd Wednesday. As of 11 a.m., he tweeted, there were only four spots left for the free sandwich vouchers.

Comments

[Copperhead]

10:43 AM on 11/11/2010

I've eaten at the Chick-fil-A Dwarf House in Hapeville, GA (the original). I thought the food was great! I'm VERY sensitive to MSG and I didn't detect any in the chicken sandwich I had. I thought it and the fries were good.

[WaterCloset]

04:23 PM on 09/17/2010

I was one of the sheep that stood in line for 25 minutes just to try their chicken sandwich (my friend kept raving about it). In my opinion was not really worth the wait. When I bit into all I can taste was MSG. Usually, I can barely taste it in some foods. Yet, OMG it's the first thing that hits your tastebuds and if you can taste MSG then it's probably saturated with it. The brownie was decent, though. Overall, I'm going to stick to Popeyes or White Fence Farm for my chicken fix.

Actually, I kind of felt bad for the Popeyes that was next to it. There was a traffic jam in the drive through that pretty much blocked off the road going into it.

[Turtleposer]

09:15 PM on 09/17/2010

And sad too because Popeye's is 10 times better.

[MalteseTiger]

10:58 AM on 09/17/2010

Never had chick fil a.. don't understand the hype.. I'll try it eventually but seriously.. wtf is so damn special??

[Turtleposer]

09:13 PM on 09/17/2010

Nothing. What they offer is akin to breaded chicken sandwiches at McDonald's and Wendy's. Stick to Popeye's or KFC.

[Lakesideboy]

10:57 AM on 09/17/2010

Are you kidding me?? Are people really this bored and lame?.....

[Turtleposer]

01:50 AM on 09/17/2010

We have tons Chick-Fil-As in my state. It's fast food chicken, folks. You can buy the same stuff at Wendy's or Hardee's. It's not horrible, but it's not worth camping out overnight for it.

I wonder if some of the folks are excited about it because the company's owners are openly Christian. Perhaps this is akin to waiting for Jesus to feed the masses with a few loaves and fishes. It's a good thing that corporations have it easier nowadays in feeding the masses & making money doing so!

[stroobs]

06:21 AM on 09/16/2010

Get a grip people. It's just fast food!

[mediamarv]

02:48 AM on 09/16/2010

If people saw the conditions in these chicken factories that provide most fast food outlets with chicken products, no way would anyone eat that chicken, regardless of how good that grease is.

support local, free range chicken producers. That's the best way to be safe.

[OtayPanky]

01:19 AM on 09/16/2010

Speaking of excitement, I've got a bunion that looks like Kermit the Frog.

[Aldyth]

08:55 AM on 09/16/2010

If you ever decide to sell it on Ebay...

[O K Ali]

10:00 PM on 09/15/2010

I've been to one opening in South Carolina. It's hilarious to see people dressed as cows, camping out for days like they were waiting for Grateful Dead tickets. The chicken is pretty good and I've never been to a store where the employees didn't act in a professional manner. I never made it in time for the free meals for a year, but I was awarded with a free sandwich for wearing my team's logo.

[Chad Sexington III]

08:44 PM on 09/15/2010

Wow . . . just . . . wow.

[Aldyth]

04:18 PM on 09/15/2010

You'd be amazed at what constitutes excitement for some folks. I live in a small town far away from Chicago. When the KFC/Taco Bell opened up, we had cars lined up the length of the road. Really, a very low threshold for excitement.

Thanks for the testimonial about the quality of their chicken. It sounds like some folks are going to be disappointed with what they get.

[Aldyth]

05:14 PM on 09/15/2010

I wrote this response to a comment by Supportamerica, which doesn't appear here for some very strange reason. There was nothing offensive to it, unless Chic-fil-A has veto rights over the commentary.

Supportamerica doesn't like their chicken. Didn't seem controversial to me. I don't like Popeye's chicken. I'd hope that isn't controversial.

[ChiTownMike]

05:36 PM on 09/15/2010

I had a consulting gig in Greensboro, NC for a while and Chic-fil-A was talked about as if it were the essence of fine dining. After having a few I would opt for the grilled chicken sandwich at Mickey D's

[Aldyth]

08:56 AM on 09/16/2010

Definitely mixed reviews coming in.

[Aldyth]

04:01 PM on 09/15/2010

I've been hearing that they make the best fried chicken, even better than KFC or White Fence Farm. Has anybody been to one to have an opinion?

[Turtleposer]

01:54 AM on 09/17/2010

Yes. And no, it is definitely not better than KFC. I've never been to White Fence Farm, but I heard WFF is better than KFC.

Chick-Fil-A uses breaded chicken whereas KFC uses actual pieces of chicken. It's the same kind of fast-food chicken you'd have at Wendy's, McDonalds and the like.

I'm not a fan of chicken, but when I have a hankering for it, I go to Cracker Barrel, or better yet, make it myself - baked, not fried.

[Aldyth]

09:28 AM on 09/17/2010

I love Cracker Barrel, but the nearest one is two hours from where I live. That's a treat reserved for when I'm traveling.