SAN ANTONIO — On July 17, 2018, Falon Griffin was 38 weeks pregnant with Gracelyn Mae when she and her husband, Robert, managed to access the bathroom of the Stone Ridge Chick-fil-A on 281 and Evans Rd, which was closed at the time.
Griffin went into labor in the bathroom and her husband delivered the baby in the tight quarters of a one-person stall with his bare hands, a few phone instructions from the hospital, and the assistance of a Chick-fil-A employee named Brenda, who is now Gracelyn’s godmother.
"I still look back at that day and I’m like, ‘Oh my goodness! I had a baby at Chick-fil-A. How did this happen?’” Griffin said.
One year later, the family invited the San Antonio community to celebrate the first birthday of “The Original Chick-fil-A Baby” at the same place she was born. Friends, family, and community members swarmed the lobby with gifts for the one-year-old. Ben and Amanda Stover, the owner-operators at that store, announced that the playground at that location would be dedicated to the Griffin family and officially named the Gracelyn Mae Playground. Each year, a new picture of Gracelyn will be added to wall next to the play room.
Although Gracelyn’s former experience in that Chick-fil-A was difficult, her future there will be bright.
“As soon as she turns 16, she has an automatic job here,” said Kelly Stewart, the marketing director for Chick-fil-A Stone Ridge. “The possibilities for her are endless here.”
A guaranteed job and free food are just the beginning. Gracelyn was born with down syndrome. Her family partnered with Chick-fil-A at her party Wednesday to give back to other families raising children with special needs. The restaurant donated a percentage of all our sales to the Tim Tebow Foundation: Night to Shine.
The family joked about the pregnant women at the party, saying, “Dr. Robert is here if any of you need him.” Gracelyn’s birth certificate was signed by her father as the physician and head nurse since he delivered her by himself.
“These special memories are just more than a mother could ever ask for,” Griffin said.
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