Chick-fil-A Roseville customers include birthday girls and dogs in drive-through lines on opening day – Macomb Daily

Little Blake Riley knew where she wanted to have lunch for her sixth birthday: at the new Chick-fil-A restaurant that opened on her special day Thursday in Roseville.

Joined by her mom Amanda, her mom’s fiancé Travis Zeiter, and family friend Chelsea Harrison, Blake wore a bright pink birthday crown as the group munched on chicken sandwiches, chicken nuggets, and some macaroni and cheese

“We love Chick-fil-A and have been waiting for one to open in our area,” Amanda Riley said. “Blake asked to come here, she has to choose. We usually go to Red Robin, which is our usual tradition.

Thursday marked the official opening of the second Chick-fil-A location in Macomb County.

Company officials said people were waiting in line for the restaurant to open at 6:30 a.m. Some wanted to be among the first to eat in the Macomb Mall parking lot, others who never wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

Chick-fil-A team members take Bridget Cornwell’s food order while daughter Aubrey and dog Jack wait patiently in the backseat. (MITCH HOTTS – MACOMB DAILY)

Although the popular eatery is known for long lines of customers, especially at the drive-thru, some guests said they expected to wait and came with a lot of patience.

Bridget Cornwell and her daughter Aubrey from St. Clair Shores waited in the truck lane with their 8-year-old golden retriever, Jack, who was calmly waiting for his monthly order of waffle fries. Jack was one of at least two dogs spotted in drive-thru vehicles during the lunchtime visit.

“We waited about 15 minutes, but honestly I expected it to be longer,” Cornwell said.

On Thursday, a Chick-fil-A team member takes a customer’s order on his iPad while other customers wait in line to place their food and drink orders. (MITCH HOTTS – MACOMB DAILY)

Chick-fil-A officials worked with police and Department of Public Works workers on a plan to use traffic cones to safely bring in and out customers using the parking lot. In the DPW vehicle, a bulletin board was loaded and ready to go in case of the huge turnout, but as of Thursday at 1 p.m., authorities said there were no major problems.

On opening day Thursday, two Roseville Department of Public Works trucks and a police officer survey traffic at Chick-fil-A. No problems were reported by the lunch participants. (MITCH HOTTS – MACOMB DAILY)

Employees, some accompanied by corporate trainers, handed out paper menus to customers waiting in line to reduce waiting times. There were lines at the restaurant, but most people ordered their food and sat down on time.

The Atlanta-based company plans to open a Third County location later this year on 23 Mile Road west of Gratiot in Chesterfield Township.