Dwarf House Chick-fil-A: Review of the Original Chick-fil-A in Hapeville, GA
Hello fellow Chick-fil-A lover! I’m super excited to bring you a review of The Dwarf House Chick-fil-A; the original Chick-fil-A that started it all!
Let me first say my family loves Chick-fil-A! It’s a little embarrassing actually about how many times I enter that drive-thru line every week. 🙈
And if it weren’t for Chick-fil-A, my picky daughter might starve to death. Even as a teen, it’s one of the only foods she will actually eat. So, needless to say, we frequent this fast food restaurant quite often.
On a recent family spring break trip to Asheville, North Carolina, I thought it would be fun to stop about halfway in Atlanta for a lunch break at the original Chick-fil-A in Hapeville, Georgia. And on the way back, we decided to stop at another one of Atlanta’s themed Chick-fil-A’s Truett’s Luau.
It’s all here: everything you want to know about the original Chick-fil-A, including why it’s called The Dwarf House, where it is, the exterior and interior, and what it serves!
Where is the original Chick-fil-A?
The original Chick-fil-A, known as The Dwarf House is located in Hapeville, Georgia.
In case you’ve never heard of Hapeville, you’ll be happy to know that Hapeville is a suburb of Atlanta that is very accessible and easy to get to.
In fact, it is actually right next door to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport; the busiest airport in the world. And because it’s right next to the Atlanta airport, you’ll see plane after plane flying right over you as you approach the restaurant.
Because of Hapeville Dwarf House’s prime location in Atlanta, it is a must-visit restaurant for Chick-fil-A lovers flying into or out of Atlanta or driving through Atlanta on a road trip.
Exact Location: 461 N Central Avenue, Hapeville, GA. 30354
Why do they call Chick-fil-A Dwarf House?
You might wonder why they call this particular Chick-fil-A “The Dwarf House.”
In order to understand why it’s called the Dwarf House, let me give you a little backstory on how Chick-fil-A began.
In 1946, Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A, opened a restaurant in a small converted house. He named this restaurant The Dwarf Grill because of its very small size. It had only 10 stools and 4 booths.
This restaurant was open 24 hours a day, six days a week, and just like today they were closed on Sundays. They served up many short-order items, steaks, and hamburgers. It wasn’t until 1964 that the famous chicken sandwich we know and love today was added to the menu.
The Dwarf Grill grew quickly and in 1957 they added a chimney and a front porch and changed the name to The Dwarf House. Ten years later in 1967, The Dwarf House was torn down to build a larger restaurant.
And in 2021, The Dwarf House closed for a huge remodel and didn’t open back up until almost a year later in 2022. The remodeled restaurant is fresh, modern, and larger, but at the same time, they honored and paid tribute to the previous buildings.
They placed the original 10 stools and 4 booths exactly where they were in the original 1946 restaurant, reused many of the same bricks from the 1967 building, added a stone chimney to honor the 1957 building, and placed reclaimed lanterns from the 1967 building in the entryway.
Hours of the Original Chick-fil-A
The original Chick-fil-A in Hapeville, Georgia is open Monday through Saturday from 6 am- 10 pm. They have a full-service restaurant, a counter-service restaurant, and a drive-thru window.
Exterior of The Original Dwarf House Chick-Fil-A
When pulling into the parking lot of the Hapeville Dwarf House Chick-Fil-A, you will be amazed by its size. It’s huge! 10,446 square feet to be exact!!
The original Dwarf House Chick-fil-A restaurant includes sit-down service, counter service, and drive-thru service.
And no trip to the Original Dwarf House Chick-fil-A is complete without getting your picture with the statue of Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A.
On the exterior of the building, you’ll see a red dwarf size door. And no you don’t have to be dwarf-size or a kid to enter this door! As a 5’9 adult, I entered through the little red door to have the full Dwarf House experience!
Before or after eating, head to the left of the restaurant to take a look at the large bronze plaque on the brick wall. It shows pictures of how The Dwarf House has progressed over the years from The Dwarf Grill in 1946, to The Dwarf House with the added chimney and porch in 1957, and in 1967 with the new construction.
Also located here is the outdoor dining area. This area is exactly where the original Dwarf Grill was located.
In the “front yard” of The Dwarf House, is a fun play area for kids to run around and burn off some energy.
Located near the front door is a cute play area for toddlers and young kids. Here they can climb on a large waffle fry, pickle, and lemon slice.
Interior of The Original Dwarf House Chick-Fil-A
Now let’s talk about the interior of the original Dwarf House Chick-fil-A!
Upon entering the red dwarf door or the regular door, you’ll see evidence of the beautiful stained-glass windows that were preserved from the 1967 building.
In the lobby, you’ll see a cute dwarf display in front of you. There’s also a great place for a photo opp under the “Dwarf House” sign.
To the right of the lobby is the traditional counter-service restaurant.
On the left side of the lobby is Zelma’s Pie Shop. Here you can purchase delicious chocolate, lemon, or coconut pies to take home. It was named after Zelma Calhoun who was the chief pie maker at Chick-fil-A for 45 years.
Also, on the left side of the lobby is the entryway to the full-service restaurant. I definitely recommend eating here on your visit to the original Dwarf House Chick-fil-A.
The full-service restaurant includes booths and bar stools to enjoy eating your breakfast, lunch, or dinner. In fact, the original stools were reused here. How cool is that?
FUN FACT:
The Dwarf House Chick-fil-A has 15 bronze dwarfs that are hidden throughout the restaurant. These bronze dwarfs are not just any random dwarfs but were made to resemble important employees and members of the Cathy family. All 15 bronze dwarfs are holding something that was special or meaningful to them. For example, there’s a bronze dwarf holding a mixing bowl that pays homage to Zelma the pie chief.
Dwarf House Chick-Fil-A Menu
Now, let’s talk about the Dwarf House Chick-fil-A Menu!
I’m excited to share the Dwarf House Chick-Fil-A menu with you because this was something I found very difficult to find myself online.
If you choose to dine at the counter service or the drive-thru they will serve all your normal Chick-fil-a menu items such as nuggets, the original chicken sandwich, and waffle fries.
But, to get the full experience of the original Chick-fil-A, go to the full-service dining on the left side of the restaurant.
Just know there might be a little wait to sit down, but that’s ok because it is definitely worth it! We had to wait about 20 minutes, but that was fine because it gave us some time to explore the interior and exterior of the restaurant.
What’s really cool about this Dwarf House Chick-fil-A is they serve items from the original menu! And this includes hamburgers, yes, hamburgers!! Can you believe it? 🍔
Some items from the Dwarf House Chick-fil-A menu include giant burgers, grilled cheeses, the famous Hot Brown, fried okra, cole slaw, cornbread, green beans, biscuits & gravy, and chicken and waffles.
For dessert, you can get a slice of homemade lemon, chocolate, or coconut pie.
What My Family Ate from the Hapeville Dwarf House Menu
So you might be wondering what we ate at the Hapeville Dwarf House and if it was any good.
I wanted to try something that was not on the original menu, so I ordered the Grilled Chicken Melt. This is similar to your traditional patty melt with toasted bread, cheese, and onions, but instead of beef it has grilled chicken.
And oh my gosh, it was so good! I wish they would put this on their regular menu and if they did it would be my go-to item! When you order a platter, you get to pick 2 sides so I choose green beans and mac-n-cheese. It was all so delicious!
My husband ordered the Chicken Nugget Platter and also got the breakfast Chick-fil-A Skillet. This is scattered potatoes, scrambled eggs, original Chick-fil-A chicken, cheddar cheese, and topped with cilantro-lime sauce, and bacon.
NOTE: If you dine here at lunch or dinner, some of the breakfast menu items are still available.
All of my kids stuck with their usual Chick-fil-A go-to’s, but the difference here is the platters included 2 sides which means we all left very full and satisfied!
We all enjoyed our lunch and left nothing on our plates. We had a wonderful experience and it was the perfect road trip stop!
FAQs
The Dwarf House is Chick-fil-A. The Dwarf House is the name given to some of the Chick-fil-A’s that honor the original Chick-fil-A which was called The Dwarf House.
There are currently 6 Dwarf Houses in the Atlanta area; the original Hapeville Dwarf House, Fayetteville Dwarf House, Forest Park Dwarf House, Jonesboro Dwarf House, Pleasant Hill Dwarf House, and Riverdale Dwarf House.
The original Chick-fil-A Dwarf House is located in Hapeville, Georgia; a suburb of Atlanta. There are other Dwarf Houses in the Atlanta area, but the one in Hapeville is the original.
Final Thoughts: Dwarf House Chick-fil-A
The Dwarf House Chick-fil-A is a must-visit restaurant for any Chick-fil-A lover! ❤️
If traveling through Atlanta definitely stop here for a meal break.
Even if you’re not traveling through Atlanta, make a special trip here just to see the original restaurant. There’s so much history here and it’s just fun to see where it all started! You could even combine it with a Chick-fil-A Backstage Tour at the Chick-fil-A headquarters in Atlanta.
Dine in the full-service restaurant, so you can order items from the original Dwarf House menu. And save room for a delicious slice of homemade pie from Zelma’s Pie Shop.