When Caleb Pedersen told his colleagues he was going to miss work on Wednesday, they wanted to know why, and he was a little embarrassed to tell them the truth.

He did, though, and his co-workers laughed.

Pedersen, 28, missed work at his investment firm because he was camping out in the parking lot of Vancouver’s first Chick-fil-A, which opens 6 a.m. Thursday. He wasn’t the only one.

When Chick-fil-A opens a new restaurant, it awards free meals for a year to the first 100 people in line who live in nearby ZIP codes. The promotion turned the parking lot at the restaurant, 16400 S.E. Mill Plain Blvd., into the city’s hottest campground for one night.

Guests were allowed to start lining up at 6 a.m. Wednesday, although many arrived even earlier. By the time 6 a.m. rolled around Wednesday, 76 people were already waiting, said John Dombroski, 27, the franchise location’s owner.

“We got to 100 people by around 1 this afternoon,” Dombroski said.

The first three people in line showed up much earlier than 6 a.m. Hazel Dell residents Nick McRaney, 18, and Taylor Olson, 20, arrived at 11 p.m. Tuesday, but were kicked off the property by security. They picked up their friend Mat Philibert, 20, and returned at midnight. They were kicked out again.