Nice pics
Drove by the Orland Park location Tues. round 7pm and the build is on. Its right in front of Lowes and close to a Longhorn steak joint. There was a sign out front that said coming soon Chick Fil A. Not sure what work has been done but the build looked like it was just getting started with laying out the ground for the foundation.
Edit : Steak joint name is Longhorn not lone star...thanks DGL!

Just surfing FB and wound my way to the Chick website. It is saying the opening day for the Aurora location is September 16, 2010. I have seen the construction progress go well. The brick work was being put up over the shell. The last time I checked was a couple weeks past. I will have to make it a point to check soon.

A friend of mine is on the construction crew building the Chick-Fil-A. About two weeks ago, when a wind storm came through, it blew the structure down. A minor setback. He stated the opening would not be pushed back. Not sure when that is.

I stopped in for a quick snack at Popeye's yesterday and saw this:


I laughed when I saw yet another chain's attempt at directly cloning the Chick-Fil-A sandwich. First McDonald's with their Southern Style Filet (which is awful), then Popeye's with this sandwich, and I have heard that Steak N Shake has a version too.

Anyway, I decided to try it since Chick-Fil-A is not in our area yet and see how it compares. The Popeye's version looked terrible, it was very dark, kind of small, the bun was buttered on both sides with some margarine looking butter spread, and the bun was not toasted at all. The pickles were cold. But it actually tasted pretty good. I was surprised. The texture of the chicken was a lot like Chick-Fil-A, and it even came in the same kind of foil lined bag which made me laugh. The Popeye's version has some spiciness to it that was nice. I really ended up enjoying it. Who knew?

Steak N Shake's Breaded Chicken Sandwich


McDonald's Southern Style Filet

Chick-Fil-A - The Original

The Wheaton location (on Butterfield Road, just east of Naperville Road) is in progress... they knocked down the old Charlie's Ale House about 2 months ago & started work on it right away.

I thought the exact same thing when I saw that Popeye's commercial. Chick-Fil-A is the In N Out of chicken sandwiches IMO. With their further expansion it's not too surprising people would try to copy it. I'll definitely give the Popeye's version a try, but I bet it won't be the same without a side of waffle fries and a lemonade.

I'm an unabashed fan of Chick-Fil-A, and think Popeye's sandwich lauded (in moderation) by Ram upthread comes pretty close to scratching the itch. Popeye's corporate chefs at least understand the concepts of "spice" and "flavor," and the local stores know their way around a fryer, which is more than I can say for McDs, though I have occasionally picked up a Southern Chicken Sandwich to accompany my cane-sweetened tea and thought it not horrendous (like every second order of Chicken Selects or the abominable white meat Chicken McNuggets).

The problem with the Popeye's sandwich for me so far has been the bun. I can count on Chick-Fil-A to treat their bread products with some respect (at least in my experience); I can't tell you how many times I've had stale, dry, crumbly buns, rolls, and even biscuits at McDs, KFC, and Popeye's. The other items in Chick's favor are the sauces, particularly the smoky Chick-Fil-A sauce and the Polynesian sauce, and the waffle fries, which are a notch up from whatever wedges and fries are rattling around the competitors. I think Popeye's does a lick better than the more common chain franchises, but consider Chick-Fil-A a step up and welcome them in Chicago (if they can be run competently).

Santander wrote:the local stores know their way around a fryer

This isn't apparently true of all Popeye's locations, as I received a Simple Chicken Sandwich from the Michigan/Grand location that was more-or-less raw in the center. This particular restaurant obviously wasn't prepared to serve this menu item, as it took me nearly 10 minutes to receive my order of two sandwiches. The fact that one was still extremely undercooked in the center makes me think it was frozen until I ordered it.

I had Chick-Fil-A's new Spicy Chicken Sandwich when I was out in Richmond last week. It's now my new favorite fast food sandwich!! Hot and good!!

John

jkseger wrote:I had Chick-Fil-A's new Spicy Chicken Sandwich when I was out in Richmond last week. It's now my new favorite fast food sandwich!! Hot and good!!

John

I'm hoping to try the spicy chicken next weekend in Mishawaka. But only after I have the chicken biscuit sandwich in the morning!

According to the Aurora Beacon News, the Aurora location on Route 59 is opening September 16.

I am soooo excited to not have to visit chick fil a only only holidays when we return to NC!!! I am willing to drive the hour to get it =) We also jsut got Jersey Mikes which made me soooo happy...now if we could only get some Bojangles we would be set....bo berry biscuits cajun fries yum.....

LikestoEatout wrote: the Aurora location on Route 59 is opening September 16.

Noticed they finished buidling the "jungle gym" for the kiddies inside a week or two ago.

Thank God they'll be open in time for cold and flu season.

Why on Earth they erected one of those is beyond me, when even the McD's, BK's, etc have learned that these disease infest playlots are not what people go to fast food places for and are getting rid of them.

Once the 4th Qtr Openings Closings thread opens, we'll have the about to be completed Golden Corral on New York to add

Willkat98 wrote:
Why on Earth they erected one of those is beyond me, when even the McD's, BK's, etc have learned that these disease infest playlots are not what people go to fast food places for

thats the only reason some people(like me) will step foot in McD's and try to choke down that "food".

My daughter loves the playground @ McD's, and its no worse than preschool, or any school for that matter in regards to germs.. Kids need to be exposed to some germs, it helps build up their immune system, I know that goes against what the sanitizer wipe carrying moms think but its true.

Willkat98 wrote:Once the 4th Qtr Openings Closings thread opens, we'll have the about to be completed Golden Corral on New York to add

Sounds like a new fried food only emporium?

Cogito wrote:

Willkat98 wrote:Once the 4th Qtr Openings Closings thread opens, we'll have the about to be completed Golden Corral on New York to add

Sounds like a new fried food only emporium?

Golden Corral = Low Rent Denny's type chain. I shot a bunch of training videos for them about how to defrost their Sara Lee cakes for the dessert buffet (I kid you not). At the time, the closest Golden Corral was in Iowa.

stevez wrote:At the time, the closest Golden Corral was in Iowa.

There is a Golden Corral built in Batavia about 3 years ago that never opened. I've seen one that is open on Randall Road in South Elgin. Never been but I hear it's buffet style like the old Ponderosa's.

There's one in Gurnee. I've never been but during my six months in Las Cruces, I heard it referred to many times as the Golden Trough.

Golden Corral on Indianapolis Blvd. in Schererville. Thankfully, I've never been.

There's been a Golden Corral open in Bolingbrook for several years. Never been but it is a fave spot for my 24 year old son and his friends. It's apparently the only place they think they can "get full" for $10

Any news on the opening? Aurora location not viewable on the main chik fil a website.

They have a countdown for all three Chicago area Chick-Fil-A's on Facebook...

http://apps.facebook.com/cfa-chicago/

16 hours and 35 minutes till Aurora opens...

My friend and I were driving by Fox Valley mall last week, I think it was Thursday the 9th, and Chick-Fil-A had a few people dressed as cows standing by Route 59 with big signs for a free sandwich.

We of course pulled in, even though we had just eaten lunch, to try one. We were getting ready to park (the parking lot was jammed packed with people getting their free chicken sandwich) when an employee came out with a box full of sandwiches and handed us a couple through the car window, along with coupons for a free sandwich when they officially open. I was most impressed with the bag they gave us our sandwiches in. Not just plain paper, but it was nice and thick with an insulated aluminum lining to keep our sandwiches warm. They came with no sauce, and were pretty dry. But luckily, my friend conjured up a few ketchup packets in her car, which vastly improved the taste.

I still can't say I'm a big fan though. I think I prefer a McD's Crispy Chicken Sandwich.

That being said, I try to avoid fast food as much as possible after watching Food, Inc. and reading The Omnivore's Dilemma. So, I gave my coupon to my lil brother.

People are camped out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwbX_tRP ... r_embedded

Kevin Pang does an empirical assay with pre-opening product from Aurora, but leaves out Popeye's.

Per Crain's, Chick-Fil-A is close to signing a lease on a location near Water Tower Place. That's in addition to the store on Elston opening next fall, as well as a third city location that the company is currently scouting:

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/ ... r-mag-mile

cccpr wrote:Per Crain's, Chick-Fil-A is close to signing a lease on a location near Water Tower Place. That's in addition to the store on Elston opening next fall, as well as a third city location that the company is currently scouting:

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/ ... r-mag-mile

Aurora open, Check.
Orland Park, Mentioned, Check.
Downtown, Cool! Check.

Lincoln Park, Nice!

Glad I will not have to drive to the burbs to get my fix.

Saturday, Sept 18th about 12:30 p.m. I was innocently going to the Fox Valley Mall, when I noticed that there was a big commotion up ahead in the parking lot. It was overflow Chick-Fil-A parking, with traffic directors and everything. Long line for the drive in. Big crowd of people outside, maybe to get inside?

Just like when Sonic opened in North Aurora. It will take some time for the excitement to die down and have a normal visit to the Chick-Fil-A.

had one in sarasota... IMHO its a good chicken chicken sammich, but it's ONLY a GD chicken sammich. WHAT IS THE BIG ASS DEAL ???????

Local597 wrote:had one in sarasota... IMHO its a good chicken chicken sammich, but it's ONLY a GD chicken sammich. WHAT IS THE BIG ASS DEAL ???????

'gotta agree with you on all parts except the "good", I grabbed one at the Atlanta airport only because it seemed the lesser of all availiable evils. Four hours later I was still burping it up in Managua....never again !!