Standing in the rain on a sidewalk at 5 in the morning isn’t anybody’s idea of fun — even in “The City That Never Sleeps” — but New Yorker Colin Smith kept his eyes on the prize.
Smith, a Manhattan transplant from Chesapeake, Va., was waiting in line to be among the first 100 to enter Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A’s first free-standing store at the corner of 6th Avenue and 37th Street.
“It’s about time they’re getting one here,” the longtime Chick-fil-A fan said as he huddled close to the store’s overhang to avoid the steady fall of light rain. “It’s so cold, but it’s worth it.”
As is tradition, the first 100 at the opening of a new Chick-fil-A location gets a meal a week for free for a year. The promotion has become so popular that hundreds regularly show up and Chick-fil-A has instituted a lottery to see who the final 100 are.
New York fans started lining up Friday afternoon, armed with umbrellas, chairs and layers of clothes to keep warm as the temperatures dropped into the high 40s.
Zhikuo Wang, a New York University student from Chengdu, China, just happened to pass by the store and got in line after inquiring why people were lining up. She had never tried Chick-fil-A until later that evening.
“I think it’s good,” said Wang, 19, who is studying accounting.
Chick-fil-A’s entry into New York City is part of a strategy to broaden its appeal beyond its suburban base into urban cities such as Chicago, Boston and Washington, D.C. To do so, it has had to ditch its lucrative drive-thrus — the source of about 75 percent of its revenue — and focus on locations where foot traffic will be robust.
CEO Dan Cathy hopes that if he can win the loyalty of city dwellers, the chain can make the leap abroad and open stores in markets like Paris and London.
He may be in luck. Native New Yorker Ian Sinovoi, 30, was introduced to the brand on family trips South when he was a teenager, but never got to try the chain’s famous biscuits or sweet tea on a regular basis. That changes today.
“I’m 10 blocks away, so that’s walkable for me,” said Sinovoi, who was third in line early Saturday morning.
Lining up in the rain for 52 free meals from a fast-food chain was a new one on him, but Sinovoi said he was game.
“It’s a once in a lifetime experience to be one of the first at the first Chick-fil-A in New York,” he said.
