Photos by Jared Soares |The Roanoke Times

James Madison University student Liam Smith (left), reaching out to try to catch a football, is one of several people camping in the parking lot of Roanoke's new Chick-fil-A.

Dennis Green, who is in Roanoke to attend his 22nd Chick-fil-A opening, calls himself the restaurant's No. 1 fan. And one way he shows his pride is by donning a Chick-fil-A cow suit.

Jerryann Weddle of Winston-Salem, N.C., puts together a tent Wednesday outside Roanoke's new Chick-fil-A location. Since 2003, the restaurant chain has conducted a promotion to give the first 100 visitors at a new store 52 combo coupons.

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By 6 a.m., they had staked out their spot in the parking lot of Roanoke's new Chick-fil-A on Southern Hills Drive.

It wasn't going to open for 24 hours -- until 6 a.m. today -- but they wouldn't be leaving.

For more than a year, this group has bonded in a quest for free fried chicken sandwiches and sweet tea.

"The payoff is really good," Melinda Crafton said.

She's part of a group of four and sometimes five Richmond-area residents who follow the openings of Chick-fil-A restaurants located within a roughly three-hour drive of their homes.

As a marketing ploy for the fast-food chicken chain, the first 100 people at the opening of its stand-alone restaurants win 52 coupons for free combo meals -- or about $260 worth of free food each.

In the evening, the event turns into a block party, with a disc jockey and giveaways of sandwiches, chicken nuggets and ice cream.

Call these Chick-fil-A groupies crazy? They're not alone.

By 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, at least 40 people, huddled in blankets and heavy coats, had set up tents, chairs and heaters.

Wearing a bulky sweat shirt and a gray cap, Crafton fiddled with a tent. She took two days off from her job at Maymont Foundation. Her employer knows about her Chick-fil-A passion. Crafton has been to eight other openings.

"They think it's rather humourous," said Crafton, 44.

She still has 80 free combo coupons left from camping out at Chick-fil-A openings in Chesapeake and Warrenton.

The promotional events began in 2003, when Chick-fil-A opened its first stand-alone restaurant in Arizona. The Atlanta-based retailer uses it to drum up excitement for its brand.

But people take it seriously, planning their vacations and their work schedules around the dates that Chick-fil-A opens its doors.

Dennis Green, 47, found love at a Chick-fil-A opening in High Point, N.C., two years ago. Green, who lives in Charleston, S.C., met his girlfriend, Peggy Dublin, there.

Roanoke was Green's 22nd Chick-fil-A opening. He said he usually takes off work for two days per opening.

At 2 p.m. Wednesday, he arose from a nap, wearing his own official Chick-fil-A cow suit.

It was a black and white cap, pants and a bandanna. Dublin, 55, of Raleigh, N.C., napped in a lounge chair beside him.

Calling himself, "Chick-fil-A's No. 1 fan," Green said he supports the fast-food chain because of its customer service.

"My pleasure" is a common phrase repeated by Chick-fil-A employees, and they're also known to refill customers' drinks at their tables.

By 6 p.m. Wednesday, 107 people were waiting at Chick-fil-A.

Not everyone arrives to get food for themselves. Clara Bragg had her family in mind.

Bragg, 70, drove from Beckley, W.Va., with her sister, brother-in-law and niece on Wednesday to join the Chick-fil-A fans.

This was her second opening event. She only had two or three free meal coupons left from the last one she attended in Culpeper. Bragg said she gave most of her coupons to her sons, her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren.

"I couldn't eat that much," she said.