The city of Alachua will have the pleasure to “eat mor chikin” with its first Chick-fil-A set to open on Thursday, as it will celebrate with a full day of free meal giveaways. 

The restaurant, located at 16310 NW US Hwy 441 next to Alachua’s new Firestone, will open on Thursday, Nov. 20, and operate from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday. 

The chain’s first location in Alachua County outside of Gainesville will offer dine-in, drive-thru, carry-out, third-party delivery, mobile pick-up and Mobile Thru services, as well as a play space for customers with children. 

On Thursday, staff will give away one free entree or kids’ meal to in-store and drive-thru customers dressed in cow attire, be it a full cow suit or cow-spotted accessory. 

Cow costumed customers can choose a chicken biscuit, egg white grill or four-count of chick-n-minis for breakfast, and a regular or spicy chicken sandwich, eight-count grilled or regular nuggets, or a five-count nugget kid’s meal for lunch and dinner. 

“Opening my first restaurant is truly a dream come true, and the fact that it’s also the first Chick-fil-A in Alachua makes it even more special,” said the Alachua location’s owner and operator, Hayden Harbuck, in a press release. “I want this to be a place where the community feels cared for, team members feel seen and supported and the work we do every day adds up to something meaningful.” 

Crews broke ground around February on the Alachua Chick-fil-A, which will bring around 80 jobs to the area. 

According to the release, Orlando-native Harbuck joined Chick-fil-A in 2015 and has been working to own a location ever since.  

He and his wife, Amanda, are excited to start a new chapter in Alachua, grow alongside their community and are committed to giving back to it by partnering with local organizations, according to the release. 

A $25,000 donation from Chick-fil-A, Inc. is going to Feeding America in honor of the new restaurant. The funds will go to partners in the greater Gainesville area to help fight hunger. 

The Alachua location will also participate in Chick-fil-A Shared Table, a program that redirects surplus food to local nonprofits. Over 42 million meals have been distributed nationwide since the program’s founding. 

To learn more about careers at Chick-fil-A Alachua, click here.   For the latest news and updates on Chick-fil-A Alachua, visit the restaurant’s Facebook page and follow along on Instagram. 

Founded in 1967 by S. Truett Cathy, the family-owned and privately held Chick-fil-A, Inc., is the third largest fast-food restaurant in the U.S., according to the release. More than 200,000 employees across over 3,000 restaurants work for local owner-operators in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.  

This year Chick-fil-A opened its first restaurant in the U.K. with the goal of launching five more in the next two years. The first Singapore restaurant is set to open later this year, marking the brand’s entry into Asia.