Chick-Fil-A

[Mushroom]

Makes sense. That’s prime real estate and Chick-Fil-A (and likely Subway) don’t go well with the rest of the park dining vision.

Yup. Plus, the popularity of Chick-Fil-A means a lot of guests are never willing to venture to any other restaurants in the park. When my GP friends visit the park, it always disappoints me when I hear they went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch because it’s familiar, instead of trying something like Grain & Grill or Outpost Cafe.

 

[Riboflavenus]

When it was the Busy World of Richard Scarry Café, it had the best item in the park- A French Bread Pizza that was made on garlic bread. And it was cheap.

 

[kmccarthy27]

Maybe chef will have his own chicken sandwich joint also open Sundays...

idk if it was an amusement park or some other tourist trap near a park but they did that and renamed the sandwich the "Closed on Sunday Chicken Sandwich"

 

[warfelg]

Flip side hot take: a chain or two in a park is a good thing. You do want places where people from out of the area don’t know what to expect with one off places. Maybe CF could do away with outside chains and create their own chain so at every CF park there’s the exact same stuff at every park.

 

[Jonesta6]

Flip side hot take: a chain or two in a park is a good thing. You do want places where people from out of the area don’t know what to expect with one off places. Maybe CF could do away with outside chains and create their own chain so at every CF park there’s the exact same stuff at every park.

Is it too much to ask that a park guest, no matter where they're from, can likely find something they'd be willing to eat during their visit?

Pizza, burgers, fried chicken, sandwiches, salads, desserts, etc - all standard things that can be made in-house without a need for a chain at all.

The park chain itself creating a restaurant chain is bizarre, and even if the food is good doesn't really belong. I can't see it working any better than using the existing food locations in any park, and may even work against them if there's intended to be a theme a la JX.


I write all that, but then again even the mouse had the clown in their parks for a time...

 

[rswashdc]

Flip side hot take: a chain or two in a park is a good thing. You do want places where people from out of the area don’t know what to expect with one off places. Maybe CF could do away with outside chains and create their own chain so at every CF park there’s the exact same stuff at every park.

You can do the same thing with brand name products (e.g. brewing Starbucks coffee) without the need for bringing chains in.

 

[warfelg]

Sometimes for someone with food allergies and dietary restrictions (like myself) the comfort of knowing “I can eat that no problem” is a good thing. Not saying every place needs to be chain but even just one is good.

I can give the perfect CF example. I know CFA uses vegetable oil for cooking fries. So I can get them there. I don’t know what type of oil CF uses. One time I got fries from them and about a half hour later I got hives. Only happens one way from fries. They were cooked in peanut oil.

Since then, if I don’t eat at a known name of a place at CF, I will eat something I pack because then I know I won’t have an allergic reaction.

I know people like to put down chains because the food can often be bland and basic, but for many people that can be a really good thing. I know what chains I can and can’t eat at. So if I’m at a place I don’t know, I can look for chains and easily find something I know won’t cause a reaction.

 

[Crunchewy]

Also Chic-fil-a is closed on Sundays, which sucks. I mostly go to the park on Sundays, so that's wasted space. Glad they will be putting something new in that will be open Sunday. And if it rivals grain & grill that would be really fantastic.

 

[warfelg]

FWIW not saying it had to be CFA, more giving the reasoning as to why chains aren’t the worst thing for a park to have.

 

[Kings Gardens]

I think this is an absolute W. Though CFA’s food slaps, they do support some pretty horrible people. I’m happy to see Cedar Fair start to notice these types of things. This also shows that they’re not just in it for the money.

 

[Jonesta6]

Sometimes for someone with food allergies and dietary restrictions (like myself) the comfort of knowing “I can eat that no problem” is a good thing. Not saying every place needs to be chain but even just one is good.

I can give the perfect CF example. I know CFA uses vegetable oil for cooking fries. So I can get them there. I don’t know what type of oil CF uses. One time I got fries from them and about a half hour later I got hives. Only happens one way from fries. They were cooked in peanut oil.

Since then, if I don’t eat at a known name of a place at CF, I will eat something I pack because then I know I won’t have an allergic reaction.

I know people like to put down chains because the food can often be bland and basic, but for many people that can be a really good thing. I know what chains I can and can’t eat at. So if I’m at a place I don’t know, I can look for chains and easily find something I know won’t cause a reaction.

Fair point, however doesn't the park generally disclose ingredients or, in your case, cooking oil type, upon request? I can't see them willing to either expose a guest to allergens or forgo the revenue from those same guests skipping eating at the park without actually knowing if they are allergic to anything.

I was thinking, for this location - a vegetarian/vegan focus. Possibly a lot of snack items, going with a backstory related to either favorite meals of some of the explorers or something to do with dishes inspired by the temples found.

 

[mtpelepele]

I'd keep this location pretty kid friendly, personally. It's the closest major restaurant to the kids area.

 

[warfelg]

Fair point, however doesn't the park generally disclose ingredients or, in your case, cooking oil type, upon request? I can't see them willing to either expose a guest to allergens or forgo the revenue from those same guests skipping eating at the park without actually knowing if they are allergic to anything.

I was thinking, for this location - a vegetarian/vegan focus. Possibly a lot of snack items, going with a backstory related to either favorite meals of some of the explorers or something to do with dishes inspired by the temples found.

They can, but often times you run into seasonal young employees that don’t know and it becomes a hassle to get the answer. One time at a place I was given the answer to lead my to believe it was ok and it really wasn’t (giving me the answer I wanted to hear). I’ve drawn the ire of other guests when the food attendant/server had to ask a supervisor what was in it. Heck I remember at the old Hungry Hippo (I can’t remember the name 100%) I asked for ranch instead of blue cheese with a salad (I’m allergic to blue cheese) and the guest behind me leaned to her friend and said “someone with allergies should just not come because they can’t eat anything and waste our time waiting”.

 

[Nicole]

The park chain itself creating a restaurant chain is bizarre, and even if the food is good doesn't really belong. I can't see it working any better than using the existing food locations in any park, and may even work against them if there's intended to be a theme a la JX.

I am not saying it is desirable, but I would point to Chop Six. It is a thing that happens, for good or ill.

 

[Crunchewy]

I am not saying it is desirable, but I would point to Chop Six. It is a thing that happens, for good or ill.

Chop Six really isn't bad. It's not stellar, but compared to the other options it's a pretty good choice at SF parks.

 

[rswashdc]

Chop Six really isn't bad. It's not stellar, but compared to the other options it's a pretty good choice at SF parks.

That’s not quite the ringing endorsement.

 

[halfabee]

I think this is an absolute W. Though CFA’s food slaps, they do support some pretty horrible people. I’m happy to see Cedar Fair start to notice these types of things. This also shows that they’re not just in it for the money.

Agree with the first two sentences, but I haven't seen anything confirming specifically why CFA left the park.

It may have had nothing at all to do with Cedar Fair noticing CFA's historical support for socially regressive politics. It could simply be about the bottom line or the park's plans for dining options. (Or, in fairness, any combination of these or other reasons)

 

[Jonesta6]

I'd keep this location pretty kid friendly, personally. It's the closest major restaurant to the kids area.

Vegetarian snacks and a few meal items that kids may like? I mean, underplay the veggie part a bit, should be ok?

 

[JohnKell]

Just a quick history of this restaurant building. It originally opened with the park in 1975 as Granny Sweets Lunchbasket (employees called it Lunchbasket). The original menu was simple…foot long hotdogs, french fries, milkshakes, soft drinks and Miller beer.

 

[EdK]

I don't know why Miller beer sounds so good right now