Chick-Fil-A opened in Bellevue, but is it worth the hype?

At six o’clock this morning, smiling Chick-Fil-A employees, at the brand new Bellevue restaurant, banged spoons on metal bowls to welcome the first 100 customers into the store. These customers, decked out in free Chick-Fil-A T-shirts and hats have been camping out in the parking lot since 5:30am Wednesday morning.

“We brought this canopy, we brought some tents, cots, sleeping bags,” says Tacoma’s David Frank.

Every time a new Chick-Fil-A opens, the first 100 campers win free chicken for a year.

“You get one free combo meal, 52 of them, for each week out of the year,” David says.

This is the first Chick-Fil-A to open in Washington state, but this is not the first rodeo for Tacoma’s Dan Booher.

“This is my 22nd time doing this! [I’ve done it in] Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, somewhere else, Delaware, maybe? I forget. It’s the best chicken in the world. It’s juicy and delicious and seasoned perfectly and it’s always hot and fresh. I love the chicken.”

Part of the reason this opening has gotten so much attention is the political controversy. In 2012, the company’s COO Dan Cathy made public comments against gay marriage and the company had donated millions of dollars to anti gay rights organizations. But this crowd doesn’t care.

“We don’t mix out food and our politics,” says Sheryl Mullen, who camped overnight with her husband, Paul. “It’s a nice local franchise owner and we support her and we like the food.”

A group of guys, who say they came alone and became friends at the promotional campout, feel the same way.

“It doesn’t matter because it’s food. Eat it because it tastes good,” says Seattle’s Sid Beck.

“I don’t care about a company’s political view,” says Ken. “If they make a good product that’s all I care about.”

“I agree, I think that companies are entitled to their view and I don’t think that should get in the way of how amazing their food is,” adds Kevin Williams-Hayes.

After all of these fanatical endorsements, I had to find out: Is the chicken really that good? I got in line to find out.

“Welcome to Chick-Fil-A ma’am!”

I ordered the classic chicken sandwich.

“Absolutely, glad to get that for you. Have you had Chick-Fil-A before? Well, you’re in for a treat! There is a reason why people stand in line for it. It’s fantastic.”

Finally, after a grueling minute and a half, I had a politically incorrect chicken sandwich in my hands.

“It’s filet of chicken on a delicious bun served with two crucial pickles.”

And I’m sorry to say, I was not impressed. To me it was just a lackluster, beige, fast-food chicken sandwich. No crunch, no zip, a little too greasy. It was not so much Chick-Fil-A as a Chick-Fil-C-minus.