1000’s Sample Free Chick-fil-A in Billings. What Did You Think?

I've never witnessed a city get so excited about a new fast-food chicken chain than here in Billings. Rumors have been circulating for years about the franchise coming to Billings and their under-construction store on 24th St W next to Wal-Mart is rapidly going up. The restaurant won't be open until early 2023, but excited fans in the Billings area got to sample a free sandwich today at MetraPark.

Tasting event at the NILE.

We received notice about the free sandwich event late last week, with strict instructions from the Chick-fil-A PR department not to announce the news until Monday morning (10/17). Today, we figured fans would be lining up early this morning to be the first in line at the Chick-fil-A Mobile Restaurant truck, which was set up near the doors to the Expo Center.

Scheduled to begin at 11 am, we rolled up around 10:45 and were pleasantly surprised to see just a handful of people in the already moving line. Most appeared to be NILE participants. I caught up with two young gentlemen from Broadview, who were tasting the iconic chicken sandwich for the first time. Take a listen to their reaction below.

The sandwich is good.

I've had Chick-fil-A previously in other cities, so I knew what to expect. Mark Wilson of the popular Breakfast Flakes radio show was a first-time CFA'er. I asked Wilson for a one-sentence review and he said,

Moist with good flavor.

I agree. The simple sandwich is comprised of a lightly breaded chicken breast patty and two pickles on a soft bun. It's quite flavorful and my freebie today was juicy, hot, and delicious. I like that the foil packaging helps keeps the sandwich warm and the bun moist. Will I wait in line for an hour to get one when the restaurant opens next year? Probably not... I prefer to avoid long lines for just about everything, let alone a sandwich. No matter how good.