by: Adison Poole
Local residents woke up bright and early around the area to try to claim their spot in line for free burritos.
On Friday, September 13, Moe’s Southwest Grill opened in North Huntington, PA. The grand opening offered a deal that gifted the first 50 customers free burritos for a year.
GS seniors Josselyn Blawas and Ksena Spencer were among those first 50 customers and not only received a card for free burritos, but also treats from nearby businesses.
Josselyn Blawas and Ksena Spencer hold their certificates for a year of free burritos.
Photo Courtesy: Ksena Spencer
“I did some research about when they would be opening and really just looking for information on the event,” Spencer said. “The Facebook post that I did find only had about 10 shares, so I wasn’t too stressed about being one of the top 50 in line.”
Located at 714 Mills Drive, Moe’s shares a plaza with Tropical Smoothie Café and Crumbl Cookies. In honor of the grand opening, customers waiting outside received mini smoothies and cookies from the businesses.
“Both Crumbl and Tropical Smoothie Café gave out free samples,” Spencer said. “Having Tropical Smoothie next to us was nice since they had a bathroom we were allowed to use.”
Tropical Smoothie Café gives out free samples to people waiting in line.
Photo Courtesy: Ksena Spencer
Blawas was a big fan of the free goodies provided by the business and talked highly of the cookies in particular.
“I got a peanut butter cookie from Crumbl,” Blawas said. “Which is my absolute favorite, so I was super excited.”
Moe’s opened doors at 10:15 am but many were there hours before opening to claim their spot in line. Blawas and Spencer arrived at 7:00am and ended up being 20th and 21st in line.
“Jossy and I were going to get there by 6:00am because of a Facebook post that Moe’s had made which hinted at opening at sunrise,” Spencer explained. “But Thursday night they put out a post saying they would open at 10:15am.”
While only the first 50 people in line received the coupon for free burritos for a year, there were several other treats for those who missed the cutoff.
“They had a wheel you could spin to earn a free bowl, discounted meal or shirt,” Spencer said. “I spun and got a shirt which I gave to my dad since he’s also a pretty big Moe’s fan.”
To claim their spot in line, Blawas and Spencer thought they played it safe by arriving a few hours before the opening. Other customers made sure to be the first in line by showing up a whole night before.
“The first people in line had been there since midnight; they had a whole setup of chairs and a table,” Spencer said.
The new business is bringing even more life to such a popular plaza. The popularity of Moe’s was able to bring Greensburg students all the way out to Irwin. Businesses around not only treated Moe’s customers, but also welcomed them as the morning went on.
“I think the other businesses were happy to see all the traffic the new restaurant was bringing to the area,” Spencer said.
With the opening taking place on a Friday morning, many students in line missed out on class that day. Law and Economics teacher Mr. Mark Zahorchak knew about the opening and just encouraged Blawas to work on her homework in line.
“I had no problem with it as long as Jossy took advantage of the fact that she could watch the videos and do the lesson online,” Mr. Zahorchak said. “It makes it a lot more acceptable to me.”
It’s not everyday people get the chance to win free food for a year, so for Blawas and Spencer it was an exciting experience they won’t forget.
“It’s not often that there are cool opportunities to win something like this near Greensburg,” Spencer said. “My parents thought it would be fun and encouraged me to go.”
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