Visiting Truett's Luau - A Hawaiian Chick-fil-A Experience - 2024/11/15

Theresa, the kids, and I are big Chick-fil-A fans. Last year, right around this time, it was such a fun opportunity to get to visit the very first Chick-fil-A ever in Hapeville Georgia. The Chick-fil-A Dwarf House! I was telling someone at our local Chick-fil-A about it and they asked me if we'd ever gone to Truett's Luau. Truett's Luau? Yes, a Hawaiian themed Chick-fil-A restaurant! I've never been, but now I want to!

And so, we planned a fun weekend in Georgia! There's lots of things going on this weekend, but our first stop is Truett's Luau! 

But first we've got to get to Atlanta. We took our new car (name to be determined), and Theresa even took a turn in the driver's seat! It was a really late night though. After doing the kids school, then gymnastics, we didn't leave Orlando until after 6pm. 

Goodbye Florida. 

Hello Georgia. It was after 1am by the time we got checked into the hotel, then after 2am before showers and everyone got in bed. Late night for sure. 

But the next morning, we headed to Fayetteville Georgia to see the one and only Truett's Luau! 

And here's Truett himself sitting on the bench out front waiting for us. 

Fire torches are burning as we enter the doors. 

When we walked in, we were greeted with ALOHA's! 

I was even complemented on my shorts, which today have tropical pineapples on them. 

And given tropical flower lei's too! 

In the background, we can see a Tiki Man, one of the oldest smiling greeters here, made from a cypress tree that's over 180 years old! 

Just like the Dwarf House, there's two different restaurant experiences you can have. There's the quick service side, which is more like the typical counter service Chick-fil-A with a slightly expanded menu. And there's the full-service side, where you sit down and order from a waitress. 

Speaking to Timothy Dawson, one of our greeters, and the Senior Director of Truett's Luau, Truett's Luau was the last restaurant that Truett Cathy opened. The original Dwarf House we visited, was opened in 1946. Truett opened this Hawaiian themed restaurant in 2013, at the age of 92. Truett died 10 months later at the age of 93. 

The quick-service side of the restaurant. There's large leaf paddle fans spinning and surf boards on the walls. 

You can eat inside, or during nice weather, out on the patio. 

With a waterfall in the background. 

Tim also told us there's something special just above their drive-thru line. Bees are such important pollinators and Chick-fil-A is helping them out. 

12 feet above their drive-thru are these 2 bee boxes, and 40,000 bees working to make honey. 

They love all the beautiful flowers around the area, and Timothy said the honey they get from the hives are super clear and not cloudy. 

Chick-fil-A partners with Bee-Downtown who futher partners with more than 100 different corporations and provides over 500 bee hives from New York to Georgia to DC to North Carolina and all the way down to Florida! 

And these girls are hard at work, trying to gather their last bits of nectar before the coming winter. 

But, of course we're not going to sit on the quick-service side. We're here for the full experience! Our hostess asked grabbed our menus, puzzles and books for the kids, and led us to our table. 

What are these? Ukuleles? Are these for anyone to play? Our hostess told us, yes! Theresa grabbed one and played it as we were led to our table. 

The inside, with its lofty ceilings and bright sunlight, are lined with tropical plants. 

Flowing water fountains. 

And the inner booths are lined with Tikis and thatched roofs. 

But we're here right by the windows. Love it. 

Chick-fil-A has a great menu, but it's always fun to see what new ideas they can come up with. This Hawaiian inspired menu has lots of tasty looking things. I wish we could try them all! Director of Operations Tim Dawson said that they're known for their pork especially. I had told him that when we went to the Dwarf House I had to get a hamburger, because when do you ever get a hamburger from a Chick-fil-A? He suggested I try the Pua'a burger here. I was leaning toward the grilled pineapple, but let's do it! 

Talking it over with everyone at the table, we all opted to try something unique.  

The other benefit to sitting on this side is that they serve breakfast all day, but that's not why we're here today. But those cold beverages and desserts are looking tasty. I think we'll have some of those! 

It was difficult figuring out what to pick. 

Theresa was loving the ukuleles. 

Theresa - Any restaurant that has ukuleles to play is a winner in my book. 

There's even a whole wall of different ukuleles to play! Theresa has always wanted to try out lots of them, checking the different sizes for sound and feel. 

She's happy. 

And she's definitely not shy. She was complemented by other guests for her playing and singing while we waited for our food. 

Our food! First, our milkshakes! And they're served in Tiki glasses! 

Ian's Frosted Pineapple was delicious! A light pineapple flavor along with Chick-fil-A's Ice Dream. 

Alli got a Frosted Hawaiian. I'm not sure what the flavor was, but it was quite tasty. The kids ended up swapping because they liked each other's better.  

But the best one, in my opinion, was the Pineapple Macadamia Nut Milkshake. The macadamia nuts added a yummy nutty flavor to the delicious pineapple milkshake. 

Theresa went through her full repertoire of tropical island songs including Pineapple Princess, Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride, I Lava You, Little Grass Shack, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and more. 

Oh boy! Here's our appetizer! 

Big Kahuna Fries - Waffle Potato Fries topped with Chick-fil-A Classic Nuggets, flavorful bacon, creamy queso, fresh pico de gallo, and finished with tropical sauce ($11.29)

This was a lot bigger than we expected. That's a lot of fries! 

We had also considered the Kalua Pork Nachos, with its crispy wonton chips, but waffle fries instead were delicious! Everyone enjoyed this new tasty treat! The queso and nuggets with the waffle fries were really good, but now, we still have to eat the rest of our meal.  

And here it is now! Theresa chose the Citrus Chicken Meal.

Citrus Chicken Meal - Our marinated grilled filet garnished with our fresh pico de gallo and lime. Served with Pineapple Fried Rice and Stir-Fry Vegetables ($14.79). 

Theresa was surprised by the stir-fry vegetables. Carrots, Mushrooms, Broccoli, and lots of Edamame. The Citrus chicken was also really tasty. Not just a Chargrill Filet, but a different marinade. The lime flavor really came through. Everyone had a bite and thought it was great! The pineapple fried rice was interesting. Ian picked it out. Ginger. Strong ginger flavor. It wasn't bad, just unexpected. Still, pineapple fried rice from a Chick-fil-A? Cool! 

Ian chose the Kalua Pork Tacos. 

Kalua Pork Tacos - Two Kalua Pork Tacos filled with roasted Kalua Pork, our Signature Luau sauce and creamy slaw (on the side) ($12.19). 

First off, that's a lot of sweet potato fries! 

Ian's tacos were great! Lots of pork inside. Theresa thought it needed the slaw though to pull it all together. 

Alli wanted to try the tropical nuggets. 

Tropical Nuggets - A tropical twist on your favorite hand-breaded nuggets. 8 count ($9.65)

She had wanted the Roasted Red Potatoes, but was told they were out and would just have breakfast potatoes instead. When she heard mushrooms, carrots, and broccoli, she was super happy to get the stir-fry vegetables instead. 

I thought the nuggets were tasty with the extra tropical sauce. Sweet and sticky. Like the Polynesian sauce they have. 

I chose the Pua'a Burger. 

Pua'a Burger - 1/3-lb. burger topped with roasted Kalua Pork, our Signature Luau sauce, pickles and crispy applewood bacon. ($14.05)

Again, that's a lot of sweet potato fries! You get a lot of those compared to the other sides apparently. 

My burger was way less greasy than the burger I got from the Chick-fil-A Dwarf House, and I liked it better too. I thought it could have used a little bit more of the Luau sauce, being a little dry. But the flavor was great. 

And one of the best treats we found today were these amazing sweet potato waffle fries! They've been coated with something extra! They are hot and very crispy! Even when they cooled down, they were still crispy and crunchy. Theresa said these were the best sweet potato fries she has ever had. I agreed! But what could make them better? Honey! Add a little honey and these are an amazing dessert! Love them! 

And if you need to season things up, there's Hawaiian salt at the end of each table. 

Ian doing a little light strumming too. 

The bill arrived, but I also saw this underneath it. Better go send a couple postcards! 

Right up front is a little mailbag. 

Beside it were 4 different postcard styles and a pen. 

Looking around the rest of the restaurant before leaving. 

An inside "porch" to hang out. 

And a bench with big screen waves in the background. 

Merchandise? Of course there's merchandise! 

Sweatshirts and stickers. 

T-shirts and socks. 

Lots of Tiki milkshake glasses. 

Baby clothes and hats. 

Books, keychains, and more mugs. 

Plush cows and more socks too. 

That Chick-fil-A sandwich bag ornament is pretty cute. 

Want a Chick-fil-A butter mint to finish off your meal? Prepare to pull it from the mouth of an alligator (the only theming here I didn't quite understand). 

Well, Aloha means Hello and Goodbye in Hawaii. 

Aloha Truett's Luau! We loved our visit here. The food was delicious, the atmosphere was awesome, and the people were friendly. I'd love to come back and try out a few more things on the menu! 

Theresa - You give me great food and the ability to play great music, and it's a winner!