The first ever Chick-fil-A location, which opened in the food court in the Greenbriar Mall in Atlanta on Nov. 24, 1967, will have its last day of operation Saturday.
While Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy got his start as a restaurateur in 1946, the chicken sandwich he became known for wasn’t invented until 1964, with the Chick-fil-A brand and restaurant debuting in the mall in 1967.
All Chick-fil-A locations were inside mall food courts until 1986 when the first standalone location opened in North Druid Hills, Georgia.
The Twitter account Everything Georgia noticed a sign at the location announcing the closing on Monday. The Facebook page for the location already has the designation “permanently closed,” although the page has not posted any updates from its proprietors.
Despite the impending closure, the food court fixture is still drawing customers, who are bewildered by the as-yet-unexplained shuttering.
“This is supposed to be the first one, right? I’m trying to understand why they’re closing. They’re never slow. I don’t understand,” a customer identified only as Courtland told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
In 2007, the company placed a celebratory plaque at the location, celebrating 40 years of business.
The Greenbriar Mall, however, has fallen on hard times. Its largest tenant, Macy’s, closed in 2021, and it still has no anchor tenants.
The closing of the Chick-fil-A could be the herald of the end of the space.
“You have to wonder how Greenbriar continues to attract enough customers to sustain a legitimate means of survival. It’s not like Chick-fil-A was keeping the lights on, but they’re certainly going to be even dimmer at Greenbriar with this unique landmark going away,” Atlanta food writer Mike Jordan told Eater.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.