Before moving to Indiana, my exposure to Chick-fil-A was limited. I can only think of one in the greater Salt Lake area which might not currently exist since it was in the food court of a mall that was gutted. That all changed when we moved here and I beheld a Chick-fil-A within minutes of our neighborhood.
Given my little experience with Chick-fil-A, I wasn’t in any hurry to go there. Particularly since we don’t usually eat fast food unless we’re on the road. Then came the promise of free food. Sorry, but I’m a sucker for free food. Chick-fil-A is always giving away free food. Free breakfast week. Kids night. Oh, and then there’s the lucky 100 who get free food for a year when they wait in line before a new restaurant opens. Plus there are always coupons being sent out for more free food. How can one resist?
The free food got me to go in but there are oodles of reasons why I keep going. They have a great play place. They have these little plastic placemats that stick to the table so your kids don’t put their food and fingers all over the table of questionable cleanliness. They actually have an amazingly tasty sandwich that is low in fat and calories. And their workers don’t glare at me and look eternally pissed off. Okay, so I’ll stop gushing now.
Although I had heard of kids’ night, I never went out of my way to go. Sure, there is the promise of a free kid’s meal and a balloon artist on site but I usually use Chick-fil-A as a lunch spot, not dinner. But one fateful evening, we were out getting flu shots as a family and it was getting late. I made the command decision to have dinner at Chick-fil-A. It happened to be kids’ night.
The place was insane. Kids were going wild in the play place. G sat at the table staring wide-eyed at the guy next to us who was slapping the table with his hand and shouting to his children, “EAT YOUR CHICKENS! EAT YOUR CHICKENS!” A creepy five year-old kept invading my personal space, touching me unnecessarily and saying strangely invasive things about how he had looked in our windows last night. It’s not like I was surprised. I had just heard a piece on This American Life about the people that stay out all night in line waiting for free sandwiches. Some odd people come out of the cracks. I knew that there were bound to be a few eccentric people lured in by free food.
As we stood in line for a balloon animal, G was particularly grateful for this special mid-week treat. G is always willing to give me a kiss. Big kisses. He likes to give me a really long kiss on the cheek accompanied with a loud “mmmmwaaah” or many small kisses all over my face or both. And that night, he was particularly affectionate because every minute or so, he pulled me down to give me a big kiss. I was sure everyone in the place was thinking we were just like the kissing family on Saturday Night Live. It was then that I realized, we fit right in with the “free food crowd”.
Ohh, Betsy! 
Oh man, the bit about the creepy five year old invading your personal space made me laugh and laugh. I hate when my personal space gets invaded, especially by creepy kids.
Chick-fil-A = SCRUMPTIOUS, and yet, I hardly even go there, but their chicken is seriously delightful.
Grant giving you kisses = heartmelting. While we’re doing the equals sign thing I gotta say Me = Miss you.
We love kid’s night. The kids get some awesome balloon animals. Chick-fil-a rocks!
Eat your chickens? So funny! I love the idea of you at Chick-fil-A with all the crazies!
I love chick-fil-a. Their peach shake is delish. And I feel like I’m eating real “chickens”.
I refuse to go in though. I’m drive thru only. I have issues with play-places. For many many reasons…I’ll spare you.
Love your stories!
Then I suppose it’s better that I omitted the part of my story about a kid looking half-drunk stumbling out of the play place saying, “Dad, I got sick under the stairs.” And that is when G was done with the play place.
I was just proud of G’s people watching skills, though he should learn to be less obvious. Rather than merely soaking in the crazy, he would stare at dad at the table next to us, turn around, and repeat what the dad was saying. He would then burst out in laughter. If it was not for all the screaming kids, I might have done more to stop G from these outbursts.
Funny. I just read an article about chain stores that are closed on Sundays. Chick-Fil-A is about the only fast foodish store that still does. So yes, if you must eat chicken quick, eat them there: they are bless-ed.
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And Happy Birthday, Brandon.
Ick. I dislike other peoples’ overly touchy weirdo kids.
And, really? You hadn’t had much Chick-Fil-A before Indiana? I went there all the time as a kid. Probably because I grew up in Layton and there’s always been one in the Layton mall. Now I haven’t lived near one for years, and it’s a major treat if I ever get it.
Yeah, we’ve recently discovered Chick-fil-A here and we love it. I love that someone comes around to get your drink refills and give you mints. My kids love the balloons and the play place, yet it is often pretty busy-we went on a night other than the Kids’ eat free night and it was a little chaotic as well. But, man, I love their grilled chicken sandwich and their Chick-fil-A (honey mustard) sauce. And I don’t feel quite as guilty or sick as I do eating at some other play place locations, I’m not naming any names 😉
Oh, and they have several locations in Utah now that aren’t in the food malls, I think they’re doing well. I heard they would be opening one closer to the North end of SLC…but I haven’t heard where yet.