By Jesse Buchanan

Record-Journal staff

SOUTHINGTON — Leah Schatz and Holly Peterson had hats, blankets, a tent and even a heater while camped out in the Chick-fil-A parking lot Wednesday afternoon.

The Burlington residents were among the 40 people waiting for the restaurant’s grand opening Thursday morning. All will win a free meals for a year if they stay until the doors officially open.

Both have flexible work schedules and camped out for the experience. On Wednesday they were trying to convince their neighbor to join them.

The two are frequent diners at Chick-fil-A and appreciate the employees as well as the food.

“The food is great, the people are fantastic,” Schatz said.

The Southington store, 801 Queen St., will be the ninth in the state for the chicken sandwich chain, according to owner/operator Michael Hartman.

For the first hundred people in line, getting 52 free meals for the upcoming year meant staying within a taped-off portion of the parking lot until the opening. Amanda Thompson, who was camping out with her brother and friends, was waiting for other friends to arrive to retrieve a mattress from her car.

The meals can be redeemed at any time, as long as they’re used within the upcoming year.

Thompson acquired a taste for Chick-fil-A while attending school in Pennsylvania. She and other college students on break brought card games to pass the time.

While the daytime temperature was around 40 degrees, they were optimistic about staying comfortable with blankets, hats and layers of clothes throughout the night. All were glad temperatures had risen from the single-digit or negative temperatures of last week.

“It’s really not that bad out,” said Nick Rappi, a Southington resident.

Chick-fil-A staff made the rounds of tents set up in the parking lot and held contests and other entertainment at regular intervals. John Thompson said they also got meals and snacks throughout the day.

Schatz and Peterson had brought a basket of food, not knowing they’d be fed.

“We won’t have to break open the protein bars,” Schatz said.

The two have wanted to camp out for a store opening but weren’t in one of the eligible zip codes for the Wallingford store opening several years ago.

“(Peterson) has done an Ironman (triathlon), some people do an Ironman, some people climb Mount Everest, I’ve always wanted to camp out at Chick-fil-A,” Schatz said.

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