The first Chick-fil-A restaurant, which opened its doors more than 50 years ago, will close this weekend.
Founder Truett Cathy founded the legendary fast food chain in 1967 in the Greenbriar Mall on Greenbriar Parkway in Atlanta.
But the restaurant has announced it will be closing, and signs on site indicate the last day of service will be May 20.
Last meals will be served between 11am and 4pm on Saturday and fans are mourning the loss of the original home of the famous chicken sandwich.
It’s not clear why the store is closing, but owners have asked customers to support nearby Chic Fil A restaurants instead.
The first Chick-fil-A restaurant at Atlanta’s Greenbriar Mall on Greenbriar Parkway, which opened its doors more than 50 years ago, will close this weekend
A sign outside the restaurant announced that last meals would be served between 11am and 4pm on Saturday
Founder Truett Cathy (right) established the iconic mall fast food chain in 1967
The sign outside the original location read, “Our final day of operation here at Chick-fil-a Greenbriar Mall will be Saturday May 20th, 2023.”
“Please visit our other locations at Chick-fil-A Camp Creek Parkway and Chick-fil-A Cascade Road.
“It was our pleasure to serve you!”
The location was already listed as “permanently closed” on its Facebook page. Dailymail.com has reached out to Chick-fil-A for comment.
Angered by the closure of the original restaurant, fans took to social media to express their frustration.
One user wrote, “Greenbriar Mall would truly be dead without Chick-fil-A.”
Another said: “They are closing Chick-Fil-A at Greenbriar Mall. Times are really changing.”
While a third added, “As a true Atlantan, I’ll be in that long line again next week, that’s all.”
A plaque at Greenbriar Mall honors the very first Chick-fil-A restaurant, saying it “pioneered mall dining” when it opened 56 years ago
The chain called the site “groundbreaking” and helped take the franchise to over 45 states across the country
Cathy (right) and his brother invented the legendary chicken sandwich at their Hapeville restaurant known as the Dwarf Grill, and this was the birthplace of Chick-fil-A
Others shared their memories of visiting the legendary restaurant.
“It kind of makes me sad.” “Growing up in Eastpoint, I used to bike to the Greenbriar mall every weekend just to hang out,” said one user.
“And the Chick-fil-A was definitely the meeting place because it was right next to the arcade. SAD TIMES.’
A plaque at Greenbriar Mall honors the very first Chick-fil-A restaurant, saying it “pioneered mall dining” when it opened 56 years ago.
The chain called the site “groundbreaking” and helped spread the franchise to more than 45 states across the country.
Cathy and his brother invented the legendary chicken sandwich at their Hapeville restaurant known as the Dwarf Grill, and this was the birthplace of Chick-fil-A.
Fans are mourning the loss of the famous chicken sandwich’s original home and have taken to social media to vent their anger
He later opened the first Chick-fil-A store, Greenbriar Mall, following its success, and the chain has opened nearly 3,000 restaurants across the country in the decades since.
Cathy chose Doris Williams, who ran a local school’s cafeteria, as the manager of the restaurant and became the company’s first franchise operator.
Chick-fil-A’s first freestanding restaurant outside of a mall opened in 1986.
Cathy died on September 8, 2014 at the age of 92 of complications from diabetes and his widow Jeannette Cathy died a year later at the age of 92.
