DeSoto Square mall sees plenty of cows turn out for Chick-fil-A's cow appreciation day

A herd of cattle roamed the food court at DeSoto Square mall Tuesday, but the smell of chicken was in the air.

Chick-fil-A hosted "cow appreciation day" and encouraged customers to dress up like cows to earn free food. Although some cow impersonators had sheepish looks on their faces, they were all about the chicken.

Folks dressed in full cow-costume garb were awarded an entire meal, complete with a side item and a drink. Anyone partially dressed, or wearing one item of cow-decorated attire instead of a full outfit, received only a free entree, like a sandwich or chicken nuggets.

"It's great because we get to give back to guests and have fun with it," said David Speth, owner and operator of the Chick-fil-A franchise in DeSoto Square mall. "And the employees get to dress up and have fun with it, too."

"Fun" seemed to be the buzzword in DeSoto Square's food court as everyone enjoyed free chicken sandwiches, while admiring others' homemade cow costumes.

Pam Espindola and Xinia Martinez, both longtime Bradenton residents, said they heard about cow appreciation day on Facebook last week and knew they wanted to participate.

"We love Chick-fil-A," Espindola said.

She and Martinez used tutus they wore during The Color Run, a 5K race, where runners dress up in white and get doused in a different color for each completed kilometer. The tutus made it out of the race still white, so Espindola and Martinez stapled on black spots to enhance their cow costumes. Espindola also made an "eat more chikin" shirt for the day, displaying the fast food restaurant's slogan.

The slogan inspired the giveaway, Speth said. The company decided to do cow appreciation day on a Tuesday instead of a Friday because Fridays are already a busy day in the fast food industry, according to the Chick-fil-A website.

Christi Gallup said she goes to Chick-fil-A about two times a month and said she had fun making and wearing her costume. And though Chick-fil-A's conservative, Christian values have turned away some customers, Gallup said it increases her respect for Chick-fil-A.

"I have Christian values, too," Gallup said. "They're closed on Sundays and that is good so they can go to church."

Two lifetime Bradenton residents said they've decked themselves out for cow appreciation day for the last three years.

"It's something fun to do," said Karen Martin. Her husband, Randy, said he tagged along and dressed up as a cow because his wife wanted him to.

"I'm doing a honey-do thing," Randy Martin said, laughing. "She told me to dress up, so here I am."

The two frequent Chick-fil-A often because it's clean, the people are friendly and they too hold Christian values dear to their hearts.

"We know they're closed on Sundays; Chick-fil-A is usually a Friday or Saturday night thing for us, anyway," Randy Martin said.

To return to her job as a paralegal, Espindola said she'd regretfully change out of her cow costume.

"I guess I'll have to go back to my grown-up clothes now," she said as she sipped the last of a strawberry milkshake.

Janelle O'Dea, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7095. Follow her on Twitter @jayohday.

This story was originally published July 15, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "DeSoto Square mall sees plenty of cows turn out for Chick-fil-A's cow appreciation day."