Maureen Wallenfang
Appleton Post-Crescent
Published 12:54 PM EDT Aug 30, 2019
Thousands of people flocked to Grand Chute’s new Chick-fil-A restaurant on its opening day on Thursday, but traffic moved relatively smoothly with the help of police.
“We were really flying. We moved as fast as we possibly could. It was intense from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.,” said Chick-fil-A’s local operator Eric Krebs, who staffed each shift with 60 employees.
“The longest wait was about 40 minutes at dinner. In the drive-thru, we had about 115 cars an hour and, dine-in, it was about 200 transactions per hour.”
That day, the restaurant served more than 3,500 chicken sandwiches, one of its signature menu items. Krebs guessed that a normal day’s total might be about half that number.
The restaurant opened at 6:30 a.m. Thursday, but held a camp out the night before for the “First 100” customers.
More: The Buzz: Chick-fil-A’s ‘First 100’ camp out draws nearly 200 people
On Thursday morning, the restaurant’s drive-thru line started on the service road and then snaked behind Wheel & Sprocket before reaching the restaurant property.
At dinnertime, about 80 cars in line stretched back to College Avenue.
Chick-fil-A continued to pay for extra Grand Chute police officers through Saturday to help control traffic.
A handful of protesters outside the restaurant Thursday night called attention to the company’s donations to charities they say are anti-gay.
In response, Krebs said, “We’re excited to serve everyone with honor, dignity and respect.”
More: The Buzz: 5 things to know before Chick-fil-A’s opening
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More: UPDATED The Buzz: Dashboard Tea Co. to open Tuesday
Contact Maureen Wallenfang at 920-993-7116 or mwallenfang@postcrescent.com. Follow her on Twitter at @wallenfang.
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