People camped outside of new Mississauga Wingstop location for hours on opening day

People in the Toronto area are infamous for their unparalleled affinity for waiting in lines, but one video of groups camping out for hours ahead of the grand opening of a Wingstop in Mississauga has viewers a little puzzled.

The post, which has amassed more than 100k views on TikTok since Friday morning, shows more than a dozen people hunkering down in camping chairs, huddled under blankets, and even jumping rope as they wait for the new location to open its doors for the first time.

The filmer notes that the quick clip was shot four hours before the outpost opened at 11 a.m., meaning some customers must have set up there well before 7 a.m.

While Wingstop is a renowned U.S. chain that only expanded to Canada with a location in Toronto in 2022, it now has three restaurants (plus two kitchen hubs) across the city and others elsewhere in Ontario — which is why some netizens are wondering why so many people would be out before the crack of dawn to wait for the Mississauga debut.

@416.ali Grand opening day 🐔 #wingstop #mississauga ♬ Walking Around - Instrumental Version - Eldar Kedem

"There's been a wingstop downtown for so long, why are they doing this?" one commenter asked.

"Toronto will line up for just about anything!" another added.

Many others chimed in to say that, in their opinion, the chain's food wasn't worth the hype and definitely not good enough to wait in line for hours.

But these commenters appear unaware of one crucial fact: that the brand was giving free food and other swag to its inaugural customers.

According to ads for the new spot, the first 10 guests received free chicken wings for an entire year (with terms and conditions), a free Wingstop sweatshirt and a free six-piece wing combo with fries and a drink on the day of.

The first 50 patrons got the latter two prizes, while the first 100 got just the wing combo — still, a free meal worth nearly $20 to celebrate the launch of the restaurant.

For some, this clearly proved worth the wait from the wee hours of the morning.

As of Friday, April 26, Wingstop Mississauga is open at 6045 Mavis Road, at Britannia Road West. It also has locations in Toronto at 2218 Bloor Street West, 780 Danforth Avenue and 432 Church Street, along with its kitchen hubs in Liberty Village and York.