University of Sioux Falls

“Eat mor chikin.” That’s the slogan for Chick-fil-A. Unfortunately, when the nearest Chick-fil-A is 90.4 miles away from the University of Sioux Falls, it’s not always easy to eat more chicken. That’s why a group of USF students recently planned a trip to Sioux City, Iowa on September 17th just to eat at Chick-fil-A.But what started out as a small group of friends making a quick road trip turned into a group of 40 students. Some were familiar with the fast – food chicken restaurant, while others experienced it for the first time. Chick-fil-A is famous for its chicken sandwiches and its cow featured advertising strategies, which together work to reform the American fast food standard of beef burgers. S. Truett Cathy, the founder and chairman of Chick-fil-A, has incorporated his strong religious views on the restaurant.

The company’s official statement says that the business exists “to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us.”

For this reason, Chick-fil-A is always closed on Sundays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Whether it is because of its strong Christian values, the deliciousness of the food, or both, Chick-fil-A is evidently very popular among USF students. Blaze Kilian, a sophomore at USF, went to Chick-fil-A for the first time with the group and says that he would go again. “I honestly didn’t know what to think because I had never been there before,” says Kilian. “I had heard that it was really good, but didn’t have high expectations because it is fast food. That was wrong. I was surprised by the overall quality of the food.”While Kilian was a first-timer, sophomore Kari Lena used to live in the South and grew up eating Chick-fil-A.“Chick-fil-A was a part of Southern life,” Lena says. “Moving to the North, I have felt like there’s been an absence in my soul. This brief trip to Sioux City filled that hole.” Perhaps Chick-fil-A is so popular to students because it is such a novelty. Sophomore Zach Corio grew up near Sioux City, where Chick-fil-A was readily available to him, and doesn’t understand all the excitement around the restaurant. “I’m not a big fan,” he admits, “but maybe I need to try it again.” According to Melissa Perera, who was working at Chick-fil-A the night that 40 students flooded the registers, the group of USF students is one of the biggest they have seen at the Sioux City location. “We have seen a lot of groups come in, but this was the biggest,” Perera says. The USF students came on a slow day when the workers were bored, which really “pumped the workers up,” according to Perera. The students from USF were aware that their group might be overwhelming, so they also bought and signed a thank you card for the Chick-fil-A workers.“How generous they were was awesome with the card they gave us,” Perera says. Ben Shield, a sophomore, did not go to Sioux City with the group from USF, but admits to being a fan of the restaurant.

His favorite thing to order is the Chick-fil-A nuggets, with the special Chick-fil-A sauce.“You have to get the sauce, obviously,” he says. Shield, echoing the request of many other USF students, would ask only one more thing from Chick-fil-A.“I wish we had a Chick-fil-A in Sioux Falls,” he says.

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