First came Steak n Shake in 2010. White Castle followed in 2015. Cracker Barrel final made the move to Las Vegas in 2016 and this weekend Chick-Fil-A made their grand debut.
With Vegas being a melting pot of people hungry for what they loved back home, transplants have been calling frequently for these “back home favorites” to plant their flag on a Las Vegas location. And each took their time doing so. Usually regretting the delay. Each chain has their own die-hard fans who will do almost anything to be the first in line.
For Chick-Fil-A fans wanting that 100 percent whole breast meat, without any fillers, hormones or additives, it meant camping out in the freezing cold to be the first 100 people to walk thru the doors at 6:00am on Thursday. Their reward? Free meals for a year.
Like Cracker Barrel, the nearest outlet for those seeking the signature Chick-Fil-A taste had to travel to St George UT. Now they will have two local locations to satisfy their hunger with a third opening in March. My first taste of the privately owned corporation (unlike In-n-Out, they do franchise the stores) came when I lived in Atlanta, home to their first store and they seemed to be on every other corner! Fell in love with their crispy sandwiches and tasty sauce not to mention really fast and always friendly service.
Like their west coast rival, In-n-Out, they have a somewhat limited, yet successful menu. Chicken and waffle cut fries. Served as many ways as you could think of for a fast food restaurant. From breakfast biscuits to dinner wraps. They do also offer salads. Plus free wifi!
We stopped by the Henderson location today to see the crowds. Police were there directing traffic and keeping things moving along. The drive-thru line was long, I mean snaking around the parking lot and several buildings long. The dine-in line was short but steady flow. They are quick about service and keeping the place clean. Talking to some of the management people there, they guestimated they served about 12,000 people a day and combined with the other store on Eastern, they will have served close to 100,000 people by end of the weekend.
FYI: All Chick-Fil-A’s are closed on Sundays.
Our founder, Truett Cathy, made the decision to close on Sundays in 1946 when he opened his first restaurant in Hapeville, Georgia. Having worked seven days a week in restaurants open 24 hours, Truett saw the importance of closing on Sundays so that he and his employees could set aside one day to rest and tend to ideals he deemed more important than business–a practice we uphold today.
Chick-Fil-A Las Vegas Locations
Open – 460 N. Warm Springs St. (Stephanie and Warm Springs)
Open – 9925 S. Eastern Ave (Eastern and Lone Road)
Almost Open – 2300 S. Rancho Drive (near Palace Station)
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