Since Chick-fil-A opened its first location in 1967, it’s grown into the popular chain it is now. With over 3,000 locations throughout the United States, Chick-fil-A has been in the top three favorite chain restaurants over the years.
With its wild success, you don’t hear much of Chick-fil-A locations closing. (In fact, they just opened a location in my city for the first time last month!)
However, there are some closed locations, and one of them is super nostalgic…
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This closure happened a couple of years ago, but it’s still worth noting. Why? Because it was the first-ever Chick-fil-A location that was opened in 1967!
Located in the Greenbriar Mall food court in Atlanta, Chick-fil-A closed its doors after serving customers for 56 years. What led to the closing of the groundbreaking restaurant that helped the chain take off?
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In this case, it wasn’t likely related to Chick-fil-A itself, but the fact that it’s located in a mall.
Across the country, malls have been struggling as more people switch to online shopping. A few years prior, the Greenbriar Mall lost its biggest store (Macy’s), so things weren’t looking good for a while before Chick-fil-A’s closing.
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When the Greenbriar Chick-fil-A opened in the mall in 1967, chicken sandwiches were 59 cents. The only other menu items at that time were a salad with chicken breast, fries, coleslaw, lemon pie, and lemonade.
Pretty crazy to think about given all of the choices Chick-fil-A has now!
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Understandably, it was a sad day when the iconic first Chick-fil-A closed its doors. Years earlier, in 1997, a plaque was hung in the restaurant to commemorate its 40th anniversary. The plaque read, “From this location, Chick-fil-A has grown to become one of the largest privately owned restaurant chains in the nation”.
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The Greenbriar mall location wasn’t the only food court Chick-fil-A. In fact, Chick-fil-A was exclusively in mall food courts for the first 20 years before opening its first freestanding location in 1986 (also in the Atlanta area).
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Chick-fil-A doesn’t specifically say how many of the 3,000+ locations are located in food courts, airports, or other non-freestanding locations.
It’s safe to speculate that other Chick-fil-A locations in mall food courts might see similar fates, though.
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The Jackson Chick-fil-A in Regions Plaza closed its doors early last year on January 31, 2024.
After serving customers for 31 years, there weren’t any statements from Chick-fil-A as to the reason for the closure.
However, it could very well have something to do with Regions Plaza, the 22-story building that used to house Chick-fil-A, being sold at auction in March 2025.
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That location closing doesn’t mean Jackson is without a Chick-fil-A. There are four other locations in Jackson, with one free-standing location, two locations in medical facilities, and one in a university.
Still, you do wonder if Chick-fil-A is starting to cede ground to some of the competition…
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Chicken restaurants are a hot market with several competitors. You probably recognize many of them – KFC, Popeye’s, Wingstop, Buffalo Wild Wings.
One particular restaurant is gaining attention for its quick rise to fame, with some asking if it’ll be the next Chick-fil-A…
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A newer chain, Raising Cane’s, opened its first store in 1996. With over 800 locations nationwide today, customers praise the chain for its simple but good menu (only five items!), quick service, delicious chicken fingers, and homemade sauce.
Taste of Home went as far as saying Raising Cane’s “is the next Chick-fil-A” in an article from January of this year…
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Raising Cane’s is still early in its life as a brand compared to Chick-fil-A, but time will tell if Raising Cane’s continues to gain popularity among customers.
For now, Chick-fil-A is a solid favorite, and that likely isn’t going to change anytime soon.
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Are you a fan of Chick-fil-A? Why or why not? Are there other restaurant chains that you think are superior to Chick-fil-A?
Share your thoughts in the comments!
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