SAN ANTONIO – Chick-Fil-A has always been the Griffin family's favorite place to chow down, but it's clearly not the place they'd choose to deliver their baby. However, that's exactly what happened.
Gracelyn Griffin, now three days old, slept in her dad's arms at University Hospital on Thursday wearing a "Little Nugget" Chick-Fil-A onesie. Her parents bought her the outfit three months ago, never knowing how appropriate it would be.
On Tuesday night, Falon Griffin began intense contractions so she and her husband, Robert, headed to University Hospital.
On the way to the hospital, the couple dropped off their two older daughters with a family friend. They met in the parking lot of the Stone Ridge Chick-Fil-A on U.S. 281 and Evans Road. It was then that Falon Griffin said she had to use the restroom and couldn't wait.
The Chick-Fil-A was closed, but the couple banged on the door and begged the staff to use the bathroom.
"I didn't know I was going to have a baby in there! I was going to the restroom," Falon Griffin said.
By the time she made it to the bathroom, Baby Gracelyn was ready to make a grand entrance.
"I'm about to dial 911, I open the door and she's just screaming," said Brenda Enriquez, Chick-Fil-A store director.
Enriquez grabbed towels, yelled for Robert Griffin, and that's when dad had to deliver.
"I looked at her and said, 'We're going to do it right here, right now,'" Robert Griffin said.
"I'm in excruciating pain. He's not skilled. I don't know what's about to happen right now. I don't know if she's going to come out alive," Falon Griffin said.
She remembers having anxiety, knowing both she and Gracelyn were considered high-risk during the entire pregnancy.
"I stopped her at her shoulders because I saw what looked to be a white collar around her neck, and it was the cord that had been wrapped around her neck twice," Robert Griffin said.
He managed to get it off, saving his daughter's life.
"I delivered her at 10:30 (p.m.)," he said.
"All I cared about at the end of the day was the baby was breathing, and by the time they (first responders) arrived, she was pink, thankfully for those blankets for keeping her warm," Falon Griffin said.
She remembers when it all began to set in, waiting for emergency medical services personnel to arrive.
"Oh my gosh we just had a baby in Chick-Fil-A. I was like, 'This really happened. How is this my life right now?'" Falon Griffin said.
"Then, (in) a little bit less than 10 minutes, EMS was here," Enriquez said.
Mother and baby are now healthy at the hospital.
The crazy story ends with some crazy perks. Gracelyn will now have Chick-Fil-A for life and she's guaranteed her first job at age 14. The franchise owners are already helping plan her first birthday Chick-Fil-A bash.