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Jewelry Store, Chick-Fil-A Sign War Engages A Town And Grabs Regional Headlines | May 09, 2021 (0 comments)
Gardendale, AL—Riffing on Chick-Fil-A’s famous “Eat Mor Chikin” ad slogan, Jeff Dennis Jewelers is urging people to “buy mor diamonds,” and the whole town got involved.
The IJO master jeweler, who recently instituted a drive-through service, started a war of words with his nearby Chick-Fil-A store, owned by a friend. WGNO-TV, the ABC affiliate in New Orleans—five hours away—carried the story. It soon was picked up by other outlets, including the Miami Herald and WIAT, CBS-TV 42 in Birmingham, AL and on local radio stations.
It started when Jeff Dennis put up a sign saying his drive-through was faster than the restaurant’s (top image). Mike Holmes (not the HGTV star), Dennis’s longtime friend and owner of the Chick-Fil-A in Gardendale, retaliated with his own sign, which said overflow parking was available at the jewelry store.
The battle was on. Jeweler Dennis argued that gold nuggets are superior to chicken nuggets. So Chick-Fil-A’s cows paid him a visit and planted “Eat Mor Chikin” in the store’s yard. He responded by planting “Buy Mor Diamonds” on the restaurant’s lawn overnight, with the help of a local yard greeting company.
Next, the town’s mayor got involved and awarded the restaurant a special landscape award for Dennis’s artful sign (above). And by the following Wednesday, more local organizations joined the fray. A veterinary hospital sign said that if diamonds are a girl’s best friend, she needs a dog. An elementary school pointed out it helps kids learn to count both chickens and carats, a church put up a sign saying Jesus beat out both diamonds and chicken, and a doctor’s office offered help with any ailments related to any of the other signs.
Meanwhile, the two stores signed a “peace treaty” on May 7 and teamed up to raise money for the Outdoor Ability Foundation, which supplies adaptive equipment for disabled children to be able to enjoy outdoor activities. Jeff Dennis Jewelers is donating 5% of all sales this week to the organization, and Chick-Fil-A is donating proceeds from sales of cookies and brownies on May 11.
Read more here, here, and here.
All images, WGNO or Jeff Dennis's Facebook page.