In 1946 the first Chick-fil-A opened in Hapeville, Georgia, and in 2017 I went to it for the first time. My thoughts?
“This. Chick-fil-A. Is. Everything.”
First, let me give you a little background on Chick-fil-A.
Originally called the Dwarf Grill, the very first Chick-fil-A was opened in 1946 by Truett Cathy in Hapeville, Georgia, and it was a small standalone diner that was later renamed the Dwarf House. In 1964 the classic Chick-fil-A sandwich that everyone has grown to love was created after years of trial and error. From there, the Chick-fil-A brand and headquarters were created in 1984, started dominating food courts, and eventually established the standalone Chick-fil-A chain we know and love!
After realizing the Dwarf House was so close (and on the route to Atlanta!) I knew I had to go!
So, on October 20th I set out with my sister and my cousin to go to the very first Chick-fil-A EVER, and it was a magical experience. Right when you pull up the actual building is SO CUTE! There is a statue of Cathy you can sit with on a bench, the building has classic diner vibes, and there’s a tiny functional dwarf door you can go through to get in! Don’t worry, there’s also a real door you can go in, but how cute is it that there’s a dwarf door?
When you go inside there’s actually like two Chick-fil-A’s in one. On one side there’s the classic sit-in diner that the Dwarf House was created to be, and there’s also the fast-food counter Chick-fil-A that we’re all used to. Obviously, we chose to sit in a booth and pretend it was 1946.
Y’all. Let me tell you, I was NOT disappointed.
First of all, the menu was incredible. There were the classics you’d expect from Chick-fil-A; the regular sandwich, the nuggets, a few salads. Typical. HOWEVER, there was also… drum roll please…
A BURGER.
Yes, you read that right. This original Chick-fil-A has a BURGER on the menu. There was also a true breakfast menu, with breakfast staples like bacon and eggs, waffles, and chicken biscuts, and an incredible amount of sides that entrees come with on the diner side. Mac n’ cheese, greens, the classic waffle fries, cornbread, and every other southern comfort side you can think of. I was in southern comfort heaven. So, of course, I got this mysterious Chick-fil-A burger (with a side of mac n’ cheese and corn bread!). I had to see what this was all about.
Again, I was NOT disappointed.
This is actually a picture I took of what I got at the Dwarf House. I told you I wasn’t disappointed!
The food at the Dwarf House was AMAZING. My burger had two (two!) patties on it, it was absolutely loaded with cheese and onions, and the bun was absolutely perfect! The mac n’ cheese was to die for, and the corn bread was just so soft and perfect. I wish I could forget that I went and go again just so I could try the food for the first time. And honestly? I don’t know why they didn’t carry this burger over to every other Chick-fil-A because it was DELICIOUS. I don’t know if it was the novelty of it all, but I swear that food was the best thing I’ve ever eaten.