For a fundraiser to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS), a group of local VIPs were selected to sample Jack in the Box menu items one day before the restaurant officially opened.
It's the first time the restaurant has had a pre-opening fundraiser, said Trish Skorcz, local marketing director for the chain. A Jack in the Box corporate marketing representative came up with the idea.
"Getting involved with the community is one of our goals, and we do a lot of things with Big Brothers Big Sisters in St. Louis," Skorcz said, adding that they hoped to raise around $2,000.
Lee Knerschield, program director of the local BBBS, said the goal is to inspire people to support the organization, so "any donation is valuable and meaningful."
She said BBBS has 39 openings for "bigs" to shape a child's future through mentoring.
The pre-opening event was popular - a bit too popular. Jack in the Box workers had to turn away some people because they didn't have original invitations.
Some people with invitations didn't understand that it was targeted only for certain friends of BBBS, and they shared the invites at their workplaces or on social media.
The first customer was Carl Hardin, a Jefferson City resident with a history in the restaurant businesss.
When asked if he planned to be the chain's first local customer, he said: "Absolutely not. It just ended up like that. But I'm glad I was. It's good. It's really good."