Wednesday, November 5, 2015, will be a day that goes down in D.C. history: It was the official grand opening to the first Chick-fil-A restaurant in the District. Plenty lined up prior to the official opening of the doors to be one of the first 100 inside this new location, doing so in order to win a year of Chick-fil-A. But would they be the first to try the food from this new chain location? No, they would not! Two days prior, myself and a room of about 40 others would be the first to try the chicken from this new location.
Pre-grand opening events are completely new to me, but basically they are a test run for the actual grand opening; however, they're much more intimate because there are fewer people there. My friend Nick, pictured above in red, discovered this pre-grand opening party for the new chain and spread word. (Actually, he was reluctant to share news of the event and his roommate, who is also a close friend, told the rest of us about it.) A couple of my friends signed up and then took the rest of us as "plus ones." I am so glad I was offered to be a plus one because this was an event I would regret attending.
The new Columbia Heights location for Chick-fil-A does not seem out of place. Looking at it from the outside, it does appears as a new shiny toy between Bank of America and Target. One can tell from the outside: This is the place you want to be. Entering the pre-grand opening, they asked to view our invites to this selective event. I felt highly important showing my phone screen and then proceeding to walk the red carpet to enter. Only about 40 other people were in attendance, a majority of them appeared to be older Southern business people, so the small group of college students stuck out. Many of them proceeded to ask us if we were here because we would be the staff at this new location. It felt great to respond, "No, I also have an invite," which caused their face to distort and they could only say, "Oh," and walk away.
While some of us sat at our table admiring the display of roses with "Chick-fil-A" stamped across them, others went to take photos with the massive cow mascot. One of the workers came up and offered us a tour of the back, we enthusiastically said yes and followed her to the back. They gave us hats and we learned of how fresh and rich all the ingredients at Chick-fil-A are! The produce is always fresh, meat is prepared that day, hot and ready biscuits, ingredients are the best name brands; they do not take shortcuts or mind buying the best for their costumers —which was apparent after the tour when we sat down for what was one of the best free meals I have had in a while.
I believe the reason people enjoy Chick-fil-A and are willing to look over many of its problematic issues is because the food is amazing. It is not similar to other fast-food chains; it gives costumers that true Southern hospitality with hot and fresh food unlike any other. The pre-grand opening event allowed me to try items on their menu I normally do not get and I found out they have an amazing chicken and berries salad (whereas the frozen lemonade milkshake was something I wish never touched my lips). What made the pre-grand opening successful was that there was plenty of food, the waiters and waitresses just kept offering more and more! I left full and very satisfied with the experience.
If you have the time and live in the D.C area, be sure to check out the new and first Chick-fil-A in Columbia Heights. The service is great, the food is fresh, and you cannot help but smile at the cows encouraging you to "Eat Mor Chikin."
