The First Chick-Fil-A Closes After 56 Years of Continuous Service

This week marked the end of an era for the restaurant that started it all. The original Chick-fil-A location, which opened in 1967, closed down inside Atlanta's Greenbriar Mall. Signs were spotted at the food court location before the company confirmed the closure. Signs directed customers to nearby standalone locations that are open and likely full of cars in the drive-thru at this very moment.

According to WSB-TV, the Greenbriar Chick-fil-a has served southwest Atlanta since 1967. They also report that the original franchise operator was Doris Williams who previously ran a local school cafeteria.

For many, their earliest memories of Chick-fil-A were in a mall food court. That business model worked well in the earliest years and the company operated exclusively in malls for almost 20 years. It was actually central to the earliest marketing for the restaurant. Chick-fil-A was branded as "the taste worth shopping for" in a 1980 television commercial. It wasn't until 1986 did the first standalone location open. It was also in Atlanta.

Dwarf House is widely regarded as the original (even by the biggest fans of the chain), but it has never been an actual Chick-fil-A. Dwarf House is, however, the original restaurant that was opened by the Cathy brothers. You may call it Chick-fil-A's ancestral home. Today it's a monument to the place we know, love, and crave... especially on Sundays.

On the site of the Dwarf House restaurant now stands a building that can only be described as the "Cathedral of Chick-fil-A". It's fully equipped with a waffle fry and chicken nugget playground.