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On the Scene: The "First 100" promotion at Port Richmond's new Chick-fil-A
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On the Scene: The "First 100" promotion at Port Richmond's new Chick-fil-A
What would possess a person to take a day off work, drive 300 miles and camp out in a chilly parking lot?
The opportunity to win a year's worth of free food from Chick-fil-A.
Since 2003, the chain has marked the opening of each new location with the "First 100" promotion, where the first 100 customers earn 52 passes for free combo meals. People gather and camp out for 24 hours or longer in hopes of being the first. Port Richmond's Chick-fil-A (2301 E. Butler St., 215-744-1410) opens tomorrow at 6:30 a.m.
By 6 a.m. this morning, though, a large crowd of people were crowded around the roped-off parking lot. Since more than 100 had shown up, a raffle assigned numbers and turned the rest away. Later, groups set up tents inside the barricaded gathering zone, which participants are forbidden from leaving until the store opens its doors, lest they be disqualified.
Surprisingly, most people camped out at the Aramingo locale were not even from Pennsylvania. Some came from as far away as Virginia or Arizona. Since the coupons are valid at any chain location, several participants explained, there's an incentive to rack up as many as you can. For some, it adds up to hundreds of dollars in savings.
Eleanor Wagoner, 70, of Elkton, Md., has participated in 22 "First 100" promotions over the past four years. "It's more about the people you meet and the fun you have, rather than the food," she says, "but the coupons help." Wagoner attends the promos with her son as often as she can, even driving as far as Ohio last year, where she camped out in the snow. "It just never gets boring. You meet so many interesting people, we end up e-mailing, keeping in touch with each other."
Wagoner is not alone in her dedication. Another man at the event was participating in his 25th First 100, though he declined to speak with us. Lisa Rayle, another frequent attendee, drove nearly 300 miles yesterday, up from Hampton, Va., to complete her eighth "First 100" campout. Rayle said she gives most of her earned coupons away, preferring to participate just for fun. Twice she showed up too late and was turned away, though the discouragement didn't stop her from trying again. "Eight out of 10 isn't bad," she says. "After the first one or two times, you just get addicted to it."
For now, the group is still camping out, passing the time by napping, tossing footballs or playing cards. The restaurant is keeping its faithful followers sated with free food and all the sweet tea they can can drink. In the evening, a DJ and entertainment will help move the time along.
I don't know about you, but it strikes me as an awful lot of effort for freebie chicken nuggets and waffle fries, even if they are delicious.
Social comments and analytics for this post... This post was mentioned on Twitter by mealticket: On the Scene: @aharcharek reports from Philly's new @ChickfilA, where people are camping out (in tents!) for free food http://bit.ly/aCcJuS...
I was there! It was awesome fun. Met a bunch of great people. However, I was woefully unprepared for spending 24hrs outside in the cold.
[...] the accompanying story on Philadelphia City Paper’s Meal Ticket [...]
[...] all know the Chick-fil-A chain has a dedicated following — folks line up by the hundreds to get down at new locations, despite the brand’s irksome for stoners closed-on-the-Sabbath [...]
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