Chick-fil-A is opening its first stand-alone store in the District of Columbia Wednesday, 10 years after debuting its first location on the campus of Catholic University.
There’s a reason the fast-food chicken chain waited a decade before claiming a solid stake in the Federal City.
“Chick-fil-A’s goal was to make sure that our first urban location had all of the right components: the right mix of suburban-style retail with pedestrian and commuter traffic and certainly the right franchise operator,” Chick-fil-A spokeswoman Brenda Morrow told the Washington Examiner.
The 3,500-square-foot restaurant will open in the D.C.-USA shopping center in Columbia Heights in Northwest. It joins more than 1,900 locations across 42 states.
D.C. residents should be thrilled about the grand opening. Besides bringing 100 new jobs to the area, the restaurant will hand out $32,000 of food vouchers to its first 100 customers.
It’s a ritual every new Chik-fil-A has participated in for the past 12 years, giving a combo meal — chicken sandwich, waffle fries and soft drink — to each person every week for one year.
The public is equally familiar with the giveaway. Tuesday evening, about 30 people were already lined up outside the restaurant, Morrow said.
Chick-fil-A allows those waiting overnight to use its restrooms and even provides them with breakfast, lunch and dinner for the 24 hours leading up to the early 5:30 a.m. award ceremony. The temperature is expected to hit a low of 50 degrees, which is fairly warm for November.
Morrow called it “the perfect location to start our entry into the D.C.-proper market.”
Three years ago, the Chick-fil-A food truck in the District was greeted with dozens of protesters, as were many locations across the country, after CEO Dan Cathy, son of founder Truett Cathy, said the chain supported organizations that believe marriage is between only a man and a woman.
In the time since, the attitude toward the company has improved. Despite pledging to not allow a Chick-fil-A in his city, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel changed his mind.
The restaurant will operate similarly to the company’s Chicago and newly opened Manhattan locations by not offering parking or a drive-thru due to limited space.
Chick-fil-A plans to open two more stores in Purcellville, Va., and Woodbridge, Va., later this year.
