100 people camp at the Chick-Fil-A in Warwick to receive a free meal once a week for a year. Photo by Andrew Augustus, WPRO News

Andrew Augustus, WPRO News

Chick-Fil-A will host a grand opening for its first store in Rhode Island on Thursday.

“I’m super excited to be bringing the Chick-Fil-A brand to all of the folks in Rhode Island,” said Owner/Operator Toushoua Xiong. Xiong says a relative who owns a franchise of the fast food in another part of the country convinced him Chick-Fil-A was the way to go.

In anticipation of the grand opening, 100 people will be staying in tents over night to be the first through the doors Thursday morning.

“I was so mad happy, like, Chick-Fil-A is my favorite one restaurant,” said Cranston resident Jordan Sadowski.

During the camp out, the fast food chain provided entertainment in the form of games and a DJ, free food, and access to their restrooms.

Some of the campers were turned away from another grand opening in Maryland and drove 5 hours to be one of the first 100.

The store opens at 6 a.m. on Thursday and there will be more giveaways throughout the day.