UPDATE April 2: I just got back from the scene on Merrimon Avenue, where 100 people are camping out to win a gift card pre-loaded with 52 Chick-fil-A combo meals. (A value of about $300.) Here are a few of my tweets:
#chicfilaavl has a DJ at night for campers, and feeds them breakfast, lunch and dinner here on Merrimon.There are people from Kentucky, Tenn, SC and NC here in #ChickFilA parking lot on Merrimon for grand opening and 52 free meals.Madison works for a youth camp. He and his buddy Bradley have camped out for #ChickFilA 10 times before. Bradley has done this 25 times.Madison, who lives in Weaverville, is camping in the #chickfila parking lot in Merrimon. He has to report for regular roll calls.
Chick-fil-a campers are playing Cornhole, kicking a soccer ball and sunning themselves this morn on Merrimon Ave. #avleat
ORIGINAL POST March 27: Chick-fil-A encourages fans to camp out in advance of a new restaurant opening so it’s gonna be a scene next week when Chick-fil-A opens on Merrimon on April 3. From Chick-fil-A:
It’s always exciting when a new Chick-fil-A Restaurant opens. But it’s especially rewarding for 100 people who will be chosen to participate in the Grand Opening. Those “First 100” participants who comply with the official rules will receive a Grand Prize of one Chick-fil-A Meal per week for a year!
I didn’t read all the rules, but it looks like winners will be given a gift card:
We are pleased to announce that beginning with Grand Openings on March 13, 2014, First 100 Prize offers will now be featured on one Digital Offer Card. The single, uniquely coded Digital Offer Card (DOC) will be pre-loaded with 52 free Chick-fil-A #1 Sandwich Meals. Benefits include the ability to use the card multiple times during your visit to Chick-fil-A so that you can have guests dine with you, the ability to replace the card if lost or stolen and a “valid only through date” of approximately one year from the First 100 event you attended.
Click over for details. See you there.
46 Comments
and dude seriously, flash mob? These happen all over the place, I have a friend, multiple friends, that have been to 20 plus of these things.
It would be cool if other business did this but they don’t seem to have a following like chickfila does.
I’ve heard that 50% of the people make it to these things are elderly too, for real.
man I love debates! Way to go chickfila for putting themselves in the fire, we need to be talking about these tough topics. anyways I support the chicken and I try to love as he loved. We are all hypocrites really, no matter how hard we try. Its interesting how Asheville is centered around alot of spiritual things. hmm?!
Ha!!!Proof of Asheville’s true Spinlessness when the real personal-political rubber hits the road.
In a town that pretends to literally live the ethos of “Green, Local, and Tolerance” this horrible company waltzes in without a peep (no pun needed).
This camp out could have EASILY been a flash mob, a sit in/camp in a put together by Anarchists(Firestorm people where ya at?). Anything to draw attention and make the Mountain Express have to actually REPORT!
Chik-Fil-A – With a drive through which is promoting more bad air quality, non- pedestrian friendly city and traffic.
Pitching fast food which targets the poor and certainly has some Monsanto goin’ on.
With Anti-gay rhetoric.
Take your pick all you bumper sticker crowd. Which one do you pretend to really care about?
All of the politics that get tossed around daily in this town and not a word from same people. Nothing.
I’ve never eaten there once. That is my politics in action.
Business as usual in Asheville.
Boycott styrofoam!!!
Gross! What else needs to be said?
Everything sucks!
folks already camped out this morning, at least 30 strong if I had to guess
geez louise, can we just talk about fried chicken? ok, you like their stuff, ok, go there. you don’t don’t. i don’t give a cluck about the company’s belief about me being with a man or not. their product sucks, and that is that.
I live on the north side of town and I can’t wait for this business to open. Once that happens, I’ll no longer have to take my trash all the way over to the Tunnel Rd. store.
Are they gonna pay for your hospital bills after a year of eating their garbage? I kinda wanna puke just from reading this. I have so many negative thoughts about Chic-Fil-A opening up in North Asheville. They suck, plain and simple. They are a blight in any neighborhood they occupy, just ask anyone who lives within three blocks of it how psyched they are to have them there. Heart disease, diabetes, traffic, road rage, air pollution, litter.. what am I leaving out? That sickening smell? Fuck fast food and everything it brings with it! BOOO!!! This shit belongs out on the highway, not in a living breathing growing neighborhood!
I live within 3 blocks. People were “road-raging” long before any of this development started. ChicFilA’s building is adjacent to a HUGE supermarket, so they didn’t start the blight. And as far as smell, I work close to a BBQ place and smell it everyday, smells pretty good. In my experience fried chicken smells good too.
All these problems you listed have more to do with human nature and our fucked-up modern life than they do with restaurants.
Non-parents may not “get” this…but a free indoor playground will be convenient on rainy days at home.
Angry troll is angry. And may never have actually eaten at a Chic-fil-a?
I get why people avoid them because of the political associations, but their waffle fries are among the best I’ve ever had. And there’s no such thing as a healthy fried chicken sandwich, but theirs tastes pretty damn good if you get it on the fancier bun.
The taste is only MSG fooling your brain.
Fast food desensitizes you to real flavor like herbs and spices. They use copious amounts of addictive salt, sugar, and oil which is causing the obesity problem. They also use MSG which can make dirt taste good. It just so happens to also be a neurotoxin.
This rant about hospital bills, heart disease, diabetes, etc coming from a Mo Fo cruisin around on bikey eating pork, burgers, pizza, fried chicken tenders hot dogs and reubens. Might sound hypocritical to some readers.
Ever since Stu became Asheville”s Facebook Wannabe Food Critic, he’s been too busy eating at places like Tupelo and Blackbird courtesy of Mom’s credit card. Once he gets off that tit though, I’m sure it’s back to Ramen and a trip to CFA will be in the cards. As far as the smell goes, Bojangles has been frying chicken right down the street for years. Party on Stu.
We’re expanding into Asheville also.
I support traditional marriage because my brother’s wife is really hot and I’ve always wanted to kill him.
geez. like it or ya don’t. or, why don’t you learn to cook at home.it’s called a stove. and you can leave your stuff at home. make sure it’s organic cluck, ’cause tyson cluck is brutal.
Just for the record, the latest from the controversial CEO is that he has opened his mind, at least a little, and is no longer.
http://aattp.org/after-prayin-on-it-chik-fil-a-ceo-regrets-being-a-homophobic-bigoted-a-hole/
I know I’ll be stopping by for the occasional 12 pack of nuggets. Except on Sunday.
BUT WILLK WHAT ABOUT OUTRAGE????
I’d wager that this opening day is going to be… something to remember.
Whatever their sexual stance, you all seem to be overlooking the fact they kill chickens in the thousand batches and wash them in half boiling feces water after living shit lives.’ But, the building facade on Merrimon seems ok and melds with the neighborhood ok,”.
Don’t hate the player, hate the game!
We just need to get them to bring that water to a full boil. Eat Mor Chikin!
I think it would be a great idea to print up some little flyers about this promotion and hand them out in the local homeless community. Thank you Chik-Fil-A!
Haven’t you heard, the homeless population is on the decrease in the AVL…
but with warm weather on the horizon the migration is about to begin – you may be on to something!
CF had their best sales growth year during the boycott, proving the adage that there is no bad publicity. So, if you don’t like them, you probably out to pipe down.
ought
Freudian slip much? Too late. You’re “out”.
They did not stop giving, they actually increased their funding of anti-gay political organizations.
http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/blogs/bostonspirit/2013/03/chik-fil-a_increases_donations.html
UGH, I hate this. The last freaking position I want to be in is ‘defending’ ChicFilA on this, but the article you tagged is talking about their 2010-2011 giving, the controversy was 2013 and that’s when they stopped. So sorry, I hate their history too, but they did stop. Credit where credit is due.
I was wondering how long it would be before this debate came up again. I was also wondering if people would conveniently “forget” their outrage now that CF was around the corner. I’m glad to see people sticking to their guns on this one. I don’t begrudge CF for their corporate beliefs and their corporate identity. However, I choose to take my business elsewhere. I will never go to CF again. Period.
a year full of tasty hate…to one lucky winner!
Supporting traditional marriage doesn’t equal hate. I hate no one. Funny thing is, some of the most vile, biggoted, and hateful people I’ve ever met in my life have been progressives. The inclusive left, who loves everyone. Well, except those with whom they disagree.
Doesn’t equal hate, just a gross overestimation of one’s own importance. I don’t like smoking, yet I want it allowed in restaurants. I don’t like guns, yet I want you to be able to own one if you see fit. I don’t like marijuana, but I want it legalized.
And I’m not gay, but I want them to be able to live their lives as they see fit and not be told that certain benefits aren’t for them because those people over *there* don’t like how they do things.
Opposing gay marriage because it’s against your religion is like saying I can’t have a donut because you’re on a diet.
“Supporting [heterosexual] marriage does not equal hate”.
We are not talking about heterosexual (or ‘traditional’ if you rather) marriages. We’re talking about gay marriages. I’m glad that you and others enjoy supporting straight marriages. That is great. i support straight marriages, too!
However, why do you find it necessary to deny rights to gay marriages? (Until recently over 1100 rights). I can only see that as hate and judgement. And it strikes me as kinda shady to explain such actions of hate,judgement and suppression as ‘support’ of someone else.
Anyway, I hope this sheds some light on why we call it ‘hate chicken’. Not because it supports heterosexual marriage but because it suppresses and denies gay marriage on supposed ‘moral’ terms.
“Supporting traditional marriage doesn’t equal hate.”
Which “traditions” in marriage do you support? Arranged marriages? Dowries? Old men marrying young women?
The argument from tradition involves manufacturing something that’s as traditional as the microwave oven. It’s either an admission of ignorance, or the coward’s way of trying to avoid the “argument from icky”.
I support marriage between one consenting adult human male and one consenting adult human female. Clear enough for ya?
Until 1967 all the former slave states and Oklahoma had laws against miscegenation (interracial marriage.) Do you think that prohibition was fair, or should it have been overturned?
So, you support a form of marriage that isn’t really that traditional, given how female consent is a pretty recent innovation, like the move away from child brides, dowries, miscegenation prohibitions, etc.?
Gotcha. Just don’t dare call it “traditional”, and don’t use history as your crutch.
Jason W-if you read my post, I’m almost certain you will find the answer to your question. You may have to read it twice and very slowly.
Scott – My point is, up until the Sixties, many people thought that “traditional marriage” was between a one consenting adult male human and one consenting adult female human of the same race. People saw that that obviously wasn’t fair and changed it. Why are you so frightened to further change it to “between two consenting humans?”
Neat, so do I. Who doesn’t? I just also support it between any human adults that want to get married.
I too ‘boycotted’ (Chic Fil A) during this ‘controversy’ but it should be noted that they did stop the donations to the ‘anti-gay’ groups and recanted. I now eat there on occasion upon learning of this. At a certain point you have to accept apologies and move on.
Really? cmonnnnn