NEWS

WIRES

OTHER

Chick-fil-A President to Attend Openings of Metro Baltimore's Two New Chick-fil-A Restaurants With First 100 in Line Receiving Free Year Supply of Food

Lansdowne and Laurel Openings Want to "Bust" the Economy Blues by Honoring Those Serving on the Police Force With a Free Cow Calendar on Grand Opening Day

'Tis the season to wait in line and for the first 100 customers at the Dec. 4 opening of metro Baltimore's two newest stand-alone Chick-fil-A restaurants in Lansdowne and Laurel, their efforts will be rewarded with $26,000 in free Chick-fil-A food being giving away with Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy onsite during the festivities that will include a free cow calendar to those serving on the police force.

A one-year supply of free Chick-fil-A® Meals (52 coupons) will be awarded to each of the first 100 adults, age 18 and older with identification, at the new stand-alone restaurants in Lansdowne at 3599 Washington Blvd. and in Laurel at 10975 Johns Hopkins Rd. The lines at each location can begin forming up to 24 hours prior to the opening, with the prizes being given away on Dec. 4 sometime between 6 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. The restaurants will open afterward.

The First 100 Fans promotion was launched in 2003 to mark the opening of the chain's first stand-alone restaurant in Arizona. Five years later, the event continues to draw Chick-fil-A raving fans from all over the country. Armed with tents, computers, games and even swimming pools, campers turn the grand opening event into an all-night tailgate party.

"When we started the First 100 Fans promotion we were stunned when someone arrived 18 hours in advance and asked where he could wait in line," said Cathy, who has camped out at dozens of openings and will be visiting those in line at the Laurel opening Wednesday night and then heading to Lansdowne to camp overnight at that new location. "Five years later, we've given away more than $8.5 million in free Chick-fil-A food across the country to raving fans who've braved snow, wind, rain and triple-digit temperatures to help us celebrate the opening of each new Chick-fil-A."

As part of the grand opening day festivities, the two new restaurants will be honoring the men and women who wear blue by awarding them with a free 2009 Chick-fil-A Calendar with the police theme -- The Bovines in Blue: To Protect Cows and Serve Chicken. Police who wear their uniform or show identification during operating hours on Thursday, Dec. 4 will receive a free calendar. A limit of one calendar per a person while supplies last.

With eight years of Chick-fil-A experience, Bill Johnson has been selected to operate the new stand-alone Chick-fil-A restaurant at Lansdowne Station, in addition to the stand-alone location at the Centre at Glen Burnie. Celebrating his fifth anniversary as a Chick-fil-A Operator, Chris Schenck is transferring from the Marley Station Chick-fil-A location of Glen Burnie to operate the new stand-alone Chick-fil-A restaurant at Johns Hopkins Road.

The restaurant openings continue Chick-fil-A's expansion plans in Maryland. The two new locations bring the total openings to three in the past three months, the first occurring in September in Capitol Heights, and bringing nearly 200 new jobs to a state where the chain also has awarded more than a half-million dollars in Leadership Scholarships to its restaurant team members.

The Chick-fil-A restaurants will feature an interior with warm colors and wood accents as well as an indoor play area for children that includes an interactive section for toddlers. The restaurants are open Monday through Saturday from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., serving a full breakfast menu until 10:30 a.m.

Chick-fil-A recently announced it has eliminated artificial trans fat from its entire menu and is among the first national quick-service restaurant chains to offer a complete menu -- from entrées down to condiments -- with zero grams of trans fat.

The menu at the new restaurants also will include several enhancements rolled out chain wide in May. These include a new Chick-fil-A® Chargrilled and Fruit Salad with Harvest Nut Granola topping, Chick-fil-A Chick-n-Strips® that are 50 percent larger than the previous offerings and are complemented by a new proprietary dipping sauce called Chick-fil-A Sauce(TM), Chick-fil-A® Chicken Salad Sandwich served on a new premium wheatberry bread with green leaf lettuce, and Cool Wraps selections come in a new multi-grain flatbread.

A convenient way for Chick-fil-A customers to get their freshly prepared food on the go at the new restaurant is an award-winning drive-thru. In October, Chick-fil-A was named Best Drive-Thru in America by QSR magazine after a three-month industry study of 25 quick-service restaurant chains in all 50 states. This is the fifth time Chick-fil-A has topped the annual industry survey which measures order accuracy, speed of service, menu board appearance and speaker clarity.

Chick-fil-A, which had the busiest drive-thru with an average service time of just under three minutes per a vehicle, topped the competition in the category consumers reported caring about most -- order accuracy -- with the chain receiving a 97 percent accuracy score. Helping Chick-fil-A get those orders correct was its speaker clarity, which the study found to be best in the quick-service industry.

About Chick-fil-A, Inc.

Truett Cathy developed the original Chick-fil-A boneless breast of chicken sandwich in his 24-hour Dwarf House® diner near Atlanta in the early 1960s, opening his first Chick-fil-A restaurant in Atlanta's Greenbriar Mall in 1967. The chain has grown to more than 1,420 locations in 37 states and Washington, D.C. Chick-fil-A, Inc. reached more than $2.64 billion in sales in 2007, resulting in a 16.09 percent increase over the chain's 2006 performance and included an 8.47 percent same-store sales increase. It is the 40th consecutive year of sales growth for the chain which plans to add 88 locations this year, including 70 stand-alone restaurants. Information about Chick-fil-A is available on the chain's websites, located at www.chick-fil-a.com or www.chick-fil-apressroom.com.