DC to Get First Chick-fil-A Next Week

PHOTOS: The new Chick-fil-A restaurant at 3100 14th St. NW in DC; a line outside the Dumfries, Va. restaurant before its opening Jan. 8. Photo courtesy of Chick-fil-A

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The long awaited Chick-fil-A in DC officially opens its doors on Wednesday, Nov. 4 at 6 a.m., according to a news release from the company.

This new restaurant will not only bring 100 new jobs to the area, it’s also an opportunity for 100 people to win a years worth of free food. Customers can also donate books that will benefit Harriet Tubman Elementary School.

Known as the “First 100,” the opening-day evevnt is an opportunity for local residents to camp out for a year’s supply of Chick-fil-A (52 #1 combo meals). With dozens of folks expected to line up at the restaurant 24 hours prior to the grand opening, the party often includes tents, flat screen TVs recliners and more.

If you’re a big Chick-fil-A fan, here’s what you need to know:

• Participants are allowed to line up at the restaurant, located at 3100 14th St. NW at the DC USA Shopping Center no earlier than 6 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3, to register and stay on the property until Wednesday Nov. 4. No tents are allowed, just chairs.
• The community event is open to guests who live in a specific ZIP code surrounding the restaurant, according to Chick-fil-A. The list of ZIP codes will be posted on Monday, Nov. 2 and can be found at www.chick-fil-a.com/locations/first-100.
  
• Owner/Operator Jessie Chesson, a Maryland native, is a 15-year marketing and communications professional whose entrepreneurial spirit led her to open up the chain’s first urban DC Chick-fil-A restaurant. This is the first franchise location in the nation’s capital. Ten years ago, Chick-fil-A opened its first licensee location on the campus of Catholic University.

The new restaurant, located in the Columbia Heights neighborhood at 3100 14th St. N.W., will host the next First 100 event that will award more than $32,000 in free food. A digital offer card loaded with a one-year supply of free Chick-fil-A Meals will be given to each of the first 100 eligible adults, ages 18 and older with identification, in line when the doors open about 6 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 4.

If more than 100 people are onsite when the line officially opens at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3, then all 100 spots will be determined by a drawing held that morning with those selected needing to camp out for 24 hours to secure their spot.

Chick-fil-A believes in partnering with organizations that enrich education, literacy and youth. In that spirit, DC USA Chick-fil-A Operator Jessie Chesson is collecting new children’s books at the new location in the DC USA Complex on Tuesday, Nov. 3 and Wednesday, Nov. 4 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.

The books collected during the grand opening celebration will be placed in a nearly three-foot Book House and donated to Harriet Tubman Elementary School. The Book House serves as a free library exchange – allowing anyone to take a book after replacing it with one of their own. Created from old and thrown out wood, the Book House is one of several community programs made possible through the support of the Chick-fil-A Foundation

The new D.C. Chick-fil-A is well suited for business, residential and tourist traffic. As consumer lifestyles evolve, the in-line restaurant concept allows the chain to further customize the dining experience based on a specific location where traffic is high but limited space does not allow for the traditional stand-alone concept. The new restaurant features an upgraded interior including subway tile and metals in a variety of finishes and patinas all complimented by an abundance of windows allowing in plenty of natural light. The vintage-inspired interior includes a community table made of reclaimed timber and other unique custom features such light fixtures made from recycled Coca-Cola bottles and peach baskets.

Reflecting the chain’s mission to serve freshly prepared food in greener buildings, D.C.’s new Chick-fil-A is built to LEED specifications with water and energy efficiency features, air quality control and waste diversion efforts, among other initiatives.

With 70 seats inside, customers will be able to stay connected through the restaurant’s free Wi-Fi. The restaurant is open Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., serving a full breakfast menu until 10:30 a.m. Like all Chick-fil-A restaurants, it will be closed on Sunday.

Chick-fil-A will continue its expansion in the DMV area with two more restaurant openings this month in Purcellville, Va., on Nov. 12 and in Woodbridge, Va., tentatively scheduled for Nov. 25. The DC USA restaurant is among of 88 new restaurants the chain plans to open in 2015 -- creating more than 7,000 new jobs.

A native of the DMV area, Chesson brings 15 years of corporate marketing and communications to the Colombia Heights neighborhood. She grew up in Maryland, received a communications degree from Howard University and later obtained her MBA from George Washington University. Chesson’s interest in the chain peaked after a former coworker began working for a Maryland Chick-fil-A and encouraged her to learn more about franchising opportunities within the company. After attending an interest meeting, her pursuit of becoming an Operator and creating “once-in-a-lifetime experiences” for those in her community began. Chesson, her husband Karlton, and their daughter are looking forward to meeting and serving the D.C. area.

“Personalized customer service and freshly prepared food have been the hallmarks of Chick-fil-A since the day founder Truett Cathy opened his first restaurant,” said Chesson. “My team members and I are committed to those same ideas as we welcome our guests to our DC USA restaurant and provide them with a remarkable experience.”

Perfecting a recipe his mother used in her Atlanta boarding house, Cathy first served his boneless breast-of-chicken sandwich, pressured cooked and served on a buttered bun with two crucial pickles, at his Dwarf Grill restaurant which opened in 1946 in Hapeville, Ga. It was the signature menu item when the first Chick-fil-A restaurant opened in 1967 inside an Atlanta mall. Though joined by many other menu options over the years, the Chick-fil-A sandwich remains the centerpiece of the menu as the chain has grown to more than 1,946 restaurants in 42 states and Washington D.C.