Both Waco Chick-fil-A locations overflowed with customers today as lunchtime crowds showed up to support the company after its president spoke of his stance against gay marriage.
At the company's Franklin Avenue location, diners filled every seat – like most weekdays – but the lobby was packed with more than 50 customers, many sipping soft drinks or shakes as they waited for to-go orders. A line of 30 to 40 people waiting to order also snaked out the door.
Traffic backed up along Franklin Avenue as cars flooded the restaurant's two drive-thru lines. A line of vehicles trailed from the parking lot to the intersection of Franklin Avenue and New Road.
The Chick-fil-A inside the Richland Mall food court had a line of more than three dozen customers that extended into the main mall hallway.
Most of the diners said they felt the backlash against Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy for his support of traditional marriage ran afoul of the First Amendment right to free speech.
“Everyone has the right to believe whatever they want to believe, and you should not be punished for having your own opinion,” said Hillary Fleischhauer, 21, a McLennan Community College student in line at the Franklin Avenue store.
For the full story read Thursday's Tribune-Herald.
Customers spill out the Franklin Avenue Chick-fil-A store.
Rod Aydelotte / Tribune-Herald