It is not like any other grand opening in modern history, not when Chick-fil-A is involved. The crowd came in droves for the First 100 Fans festivities that made up the pre-Grand Opening festivities at the restaurant chain’s newest location on Ga. Highway 74 in Fairburn.

Contestants, and in some cases entire families, pitched tents more than 24 hours before the official grand opening early Thursday morning. Located just south of I-85, the Chick-fil-A parking lot was transformed into a laughter-filled, game-playing, family-fun extravaganza that continued throughout the day and night until opening ceremonies gave way to the presentation of a one-year supply of coupons, one per week, for combo meals to the first 100 adults in line.

“Chick-fil-A’s raving fans have turned our grand openings into overnight tailgate parties, often arriving 24 hours in advance with tents, TVs, sleeping bags, games, computers and other gear to spend the night,” said Chick-fil-A, Inc. President Dan Cathy, son of chain founder Truett Cathy. “When we started the First 100 Fans promotion in 2003, we never could have imagined we’d give away nearly $5 million in free food to raving fans who have camped out in all kinds of weather conditions to win free Chick-fil-A for a year.”

Mike Harrison has been selected as the franchised Operator of the new stand-alone Chick-fil-A in Fairburn. Harrison operated the Chick-fil-A restaurant at Union Station in Union City for two years and will relocate to operate the new restaurant in Fairburn.

“For more than 40 years, the Chick-fil-A legacy has grown to mean award-winning freshly prepared food and ‘my pleasure’ customer service,” said Harrison. “My team looks forward to continuing that tradition at our new Fairburn location.”

Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy marked several milestones in 2006, including the 60th anniversary of the opening of his first restaurant, the Dwarf Grill in Hapeville, Ga. Also, the third generation of the Cathy family entered the Chick-fil-A business with two of Cathy’s grandsons becoming restaurant Operators.

Celebrating its 40th year in business, Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A, Inc., is the nation’s second-largest quick-service chicken restaurant chain, based on sales, with more than 1,300 restaurants in 37 states and Washington, D.C. In 2006, Chick-fil-A produced record sales of $2.275 billion, a 15.16 percent overall increase, and an 8.52 percent same-store sales gain that helped extend the chain’s streak of consecutive sales gains to 39 years.

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