Ever wait in line for waffle fries in Bluffton or Beaufort? This might be why

There’s only two Chick-fil-A restaurants in Beaufort County, but the chain was picked as the most popular fast-food joint in South Carolina in a new study by Business Insider.

How’d they make that call? The publication partnered with Foursquare and counted the number of logged visits to each chain divided by the number of locations in each state to get an average, so the study is skewed toward Foursquare users.

Still, Nation’s Restaurant News says Chick-fil-A’s sales have increased nearly 73 percent over the past five years, to nearly $7.9 billion.

Chick-fil-A lists 97 locations in South Carolina on its website. One of those is on Malphrus Road in Bluffton, and another is on Boundary Street in Beaufort.

It’s safe to say some folks from Beaufort County are regularly helping boost the chain’s average in Georgia as well. There are six locations listed for the Savannah and Pooler areas.

And South Carolinians — and Georgians — aren’t alone in their love for waffle fries and chicken sandwiches. Chick-fil-A was the favorite in all but 11 states plus Washington, D.C.:

▪  Alaska, North Dakota and Washington, D.C.: McDonald’s

▪  Texas and Utah: In-N-Out Burger

▪  Hawaii and South Dakota: Popeyes

▪  California: Raising Cane’s

▪  Kansas: Culver’s

▪  Nevada: White Castle

▪  Oklahoma: Taco Bueno

▪  Vermont: Wendy’s

This story was originally published October 20, 2017 at 10:24 AM with the headline "Ever wait in line for waffle fries in Bluffton or Beaufort? This might be why."