Chick-fil-A ( , a
play on the American English pronunciation of "
filet") is an American
fast food restaurant chain which is the country's largest which specializes in
chicken sandwiches. Headquartered in
College Park, Georgia
College Park is a city in Fulton and Clayton counties, Georgia, United States, adjacent to the southern boundary of the city of Atlanta. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,930. Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport is p ...
, Chick-fil-A operates 2,891 restaurants across 49 states, as well as in the
District of Columbia
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle (Washington, D.C.), Logan Circle, Jefferson Memoria ...
and
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
.
The company also has operations in Canada, and previously had restaurants in the United Kingdom and South Africa. The restaurant serves breakfast before transitioning to its lunch and dinner menu. also offers customers catered selections from its menu for special events.
Many of the company's values are influenced by the Christian religious beliefs of its late founder,
S. Truett Cathy
Samuel Truett Cathy (March 14, 1921 September 8, 2014) was an American businessman, investor, author, and philanthropist. He founded the fast food restaurant chain Chick-fil-A in 1946.
Early life
Cathy was born on March 14, 1921, in Eatonton ...
(1921–2014), a devout
Southern Baptist. Reflecting a commitment to
Sunday Sabbatarianism, all restaurants are closed for business on Sundays,
as well as on
Thanksgiving and
Christmas Day
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...
;
to honor the
Western Christian liturgical season of
Lent
Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Jesus, temptation by Satan, according ...
, promotes fish sandwiches in respect of
abstinence from meat that characterizes that part of the
Church Year.
The company's
conservative opposition to
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
has been the
subject of public controversy, though the company has begun to loosen its stance on this issue.
History
The chain's origin can be traced to the Dwarf Grill (now the
Dwarf House), a restaurant opened by
S. Truett Cathy
Samuel Truett Cathy (March 14, 1921 September 8, 2014) was an American businessman, investor, author, and philanthropist. He founded the fast food restaurant chain Chick-fil-A in 1946.
Early life
Cathy was born on March 14, 1921, in Eatonton ...
, the chain's former chairman and CEO, in 1946. The restaurant is located in
Hapeville, Georgia
Hapeville is a city in Fulton County, Georgia, United States, that is 2.5 square miles wide. Hapeville is located inside I-285 between the city of Atlanta to its North and the Atlanta International Airport to its south. The population was 6,553 ...
, a suburb of
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
,
and is near the location of the now-demolished Ford Motor Company
Atlanta Assembly Plant, for many years a source of many of the restaurant's patrons.
In 1961, after 15 years in the fast food business, Cathy found a pressure-fryer that could cook the chicken sandwich in the same amount of time it took to cook a fast-food hamburger. Following this discovery, he registered the name Chick-fil-A, Inc. The company's trademarked slogan, ''"We Didn't Invent the Chicken, Just the Chicken Sandwich,"'' refers to their flagship menu item, the Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich. Though Chick-Fil-A was the first national chain to make a quick-service, fried chicken sandwich its flagship item, several sources have demonstrated that Cathy's much broader claim to have "invented the chicken sandwich," which is referenced in the company's slogan and has been repeatedly featured in press materials, is untrue.
From 1964 to 1967, the sandwich was licensed to over fifty eateries, including
Waffle House and the concession stands of the new Houston
Astrodome. The Chick-Fil-A sandwich was withdrawn from sale at other restaurants when the first standalone location opened in 1967, in the food court of the
Greenbriar Mall in Atlanta.
During the 1970s and early 1980s, the chain expanded by opening new locations in suburban malls' food courts. The first freestanding location was opened April 16, 1986, on North Druid Hills Road in Atlanta, Georgia, and the company began to focus more on this stand-alone type unit rather than on the food court type. Although it has expanded outward from its original geographic base, most new restaurants are located in Southern suburban areas.
Since 1997, the Atlanta-based company has been the title sponsor of the
Peach Bowl
The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Atlanta, Georgia since December 1968. Since 1997, it has been sponsored by Chick-fil-A and is officially known as the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. From 2006 to 2013, it was officially ...
, an annual
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...
bowl game played in Atlanta on
New Year's Eve. Chick-fil-A also is a key sponsor of the
SEC and the
ACC of college athletics.
In 2008, Chick-fil-A became the first fast-food restaurant to become completely trans-fat free.
In October 2015, the company opened a three-story restaurant in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
that became the largest free-standing Chick-fil-A in the country at that time.
On December 17, 2017, Chick-fil-A broke their tradition and opened on a Sunday to prepare meals for passengers left stranded during the power outage at Atlanta
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, and on January 13, 2019, a Chick-fil-A franchise in
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth-most-populous city in Alabama ...
, opened on Sunday to honor a birthday wish of a 14-year-old boy with
cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sens ...
and
autism.
Business model
Chick-fil-A's business strategy involves a focus on a small menu and on customer service.
While many fast food chains often expand their menu offerings to attempt to attract new customers, Chick-fil-A's business model is to remain focused on selling chicken sandwiches.
The name capital A is meant to indicate that their chicken is "grade A top quality". In addition, an emphasis on customer service has allowed Chick-fil-A to consistently lead the fast food industry in customer satisfaction.
These factors are seen as the reason for Chick-fil-A's massive growth in the United States.
Chick-fil-A retains ownership of each restaurant. Chick-fil-A selects the restaurant location and builds it. Chick-fil-A franchisees need only a $10,000 initial investment to become an operator.
[
] Each operator is handpicked and goes through a rigorous training program; the interviews plus training can take months and is not an easy process. Chick-fil-A states on their site:
"This is not the right opportunity for you if you:
* Are seeking a passive investment in a business.
* Want to sell property to Chick-fil-A, Inc.
* Are requesting that Chick-fil-A, Inc. build at a specified location.
* Are seeking multi-unit franchise opportunities."
Chick-fil-A grossed an average of $4.8 million per restaurant in 2016, despite opening only 6 days a week, the highest sales of all fast food restaurants in the United States. (
Whataburger was second with $2.7 million per restaurant average).
In 2019, Chick-fil-A reported $11.3 billion in sales in the United States, behind only McDonald's with $40.4 billion in sales in 2019.
To respond to the aforementioned success and market dominance Chick-fil-A, competing fried chicken chain
Popeyes introduced a fried chicken sandwich, starting the
Chicken Sandwich Wars
The Great Chicken Sandwich Wars is a marketing trend in the United States during which a great number of American quick serve restaurant chains introduced fried chicken sandwiches to their menus. The phenomenon began in 2019 when the Popeye ...
, with many more companies eventually following Popeyes.
Corporate culture
S. Truett Cathy was a devout
Southern Baptist; his religious beliefs had a major impact on the company. The company's official statement of corporate purpose says that the business exists "To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A." Cathy opposed the company becoming
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
for religious and personal reasons.
Their website states, "The Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our Restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect –regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender."
Sunday closure
The founder's beliefs are responsible for the chain's most well-known and distinctive feature: in accordance with the Christian doctrine of
first-day Sabbatarianism, all Chick-fil-A locations (both corporate owned and franchised) are
closed on Sundays,
as well as on
Thanksgiving and
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
. Cathy states as the final step in his Five-Step recipe for Business Success "I was not so committed to financial success that I was willing to abandon my principles and priorities. One of the most visible examples of this is our decision to close on Sunday. Our decision to close on Sunday was our way of honoring God and of directing our attention to things that mattered more than our business."
In an interview with ABC News's ''
Nightline'', Truett's son
Dan T. Cathy
Daniel Truett Cathy (born March 1, 1953) is an American businessman. He is the Chairman of the Board and VP of fast-food chain Chick-fil-A, which was founded and expanded by his father, S. Truett Cathy. He has a net worth of $7.1 billion as of ...
told reporter
Vicki Mabrey
Vicki Mabrey (born April 3, 1956) is an American correspondent for ABC News '' Nightline''.
Career
Mabrey was a CBS News ''60 Minutes II'' correspondent from 1999 to 2005. Previously, she worked as a reporter for WBAL-TV in Baltimore, Maryland, ...
that the company is also closed on Sundays because "by the time Sunday came, he was just worn out. And Sunday was not a big trading day, anyway, at the time. So he was closed that first Sunday and we've been closed ever since. He figured if he didn't like working on Sundays, that other people didn't either." The younger Cathy also quoted his father as saying, "I don't want to ask people to do that what I am not willing to do myself."
Chick-fil-A's Sunday closures extend to non-traditional locations. In addition to countless shopping malls and airports, a Chick-fil-A location at
Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta is closed on Sundays despite the fact that its main tenant, the
Atlanta Falcons, plays most of their home games on Sundays. The location is open when the Falcons have a
Monday night,
Thursday night or Saturday home game, as well as non-Sunday home games of
Atlanta United FC and other events at the stadium. The Chick-fil-A remained closed for
Super Bowl LIII. On Sundays, the digital signs are flipped and concessionaire
Levy Restaurants
Levy is a restaurant and hospitality company based in Chicago specializing in providing food and beverage to major entertainment and sports venues. Founded in 1978, with a single family-run delicatessen in Water Tower Place, since 2006, it has b ...
sells nonbranded food and drinks at the location.
Lenten observance
To honor the
Western Christian liturgical season of
Lent
Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Jesus, temptation by Satan, according ...
, Chick-fil-A promotes fish sandwiches in respect of the fact that this part of the
Church Year is associated with the
Friday Fast, with many practicing
Christian vegetarianism throughout all the forty days of Lent.
Serving chicken without antibiotics
According to the
Food and Drug Administration
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...
(FDA),
antibiotics used in livestock, many of which are also used to treat humans, have contributed to the rise of dangerous bacteria. In December 2012, the FDA announced plans to phase out certain antibiotics in the food production industry.
In February 2014, Chick-fil-A announced plans to serve chicken raised without antibiotics in its restaurants nationwide within five years. Chick-fil-A was the first quick service restaurant to set forth a plan and commit to serving only poultry raised without antibiotics.
They achieved this goal in May 2019.
Recipe changes
In 2011, food blogger and activist
Vani Hari
Vani Deva Hari (born March 22, 1979), who blogs as the Food Babe, is an American author, activist, and affiliate marketer who criticizes the food industry. She started the Food Babe blog in 2011, and it received over 54 million views in 2014 ...
wrote a post titled "Chick-fil-A or Chemical Fil-A?" on her website, FoodBabe.com. She asserted that Chick-fil-A sandwiches contained nearly 100 ingredients, including
peanut oil
Peanut oil, also known as groundnut oil or arachis oil, is a vegetable oil derived from peanuts. The oil usually has a mild or neutral flavor but, if made with roasted peanuts, has a stronger peanut flavor and aroma. It is often used in Americ ...
with
tert-butylhydroquinone
''tert''-Butylhydroquinone (TBHQ, tertiary butylhydroquinone) is a synthetic aromatic organic compound which is a type of phenol. It is a derivative of hydroquinone, substituted with a ''tert''-butyl group.
Applications Food preservative
In f ...
(TBHQ), a preservative for unsaturated vegetable oils. In October 2012, Chick-fil-A invited Hari to meet with company executives at its headquarters.
In December 2013, Chick-fil-A notified Hari that it had eliminated the
dye Yellow No. 5 and had reduced the
sodium
Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na (from Latin ''natrium'') and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable ...
content in its chicken soup. The company also said that it is testing a peanut oil that does not contain TBHQ and that it would start testing sauces and dressings made without
high-fructose corn syrup in 2014.
International locations
Canada
In September 1994, Chick-fil-A opened its first location outside of the United States inside a student center food court at the
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...
in
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
.
[Alternate link]
via NewsBank. This location did not perform very well and was closed within two or three years. The company returned to the province of Alberta by opening an outlet at the
Calgary International Airport
Calgary International Airport , branded as YYC Calgary International Airport, is an international airport that serves the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is located approximately northeast of downtown and covers an area of 20.82 squar ...
in
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...
in May 2014.
This restaurant closed in 2019.
In July 2018, Chick-fil-A announced plans to expand within Canada by opening a new restaurant in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, in 2019.
That location opened on September 6, 2019 in the Yonge and Bloor Street area, marked by protests criticizing the company's violation of animal rights and "history of supporting anti-
LGBTQ causes". Chick-fil-A announced that it would open two other locations in Toronto during 2019, and 12 additional stores in the
Greater Toronto Area over the subsequent five years. The chain's second Toronto location opened at the
Yorkdale Shopping Centre in January 2020.
The company expanded to other areas of Ontario in 2021, opening standalone locations with drive-thrus in
Kitchener and
Windsor, in August and October respectively.
South Africa
In August 1996, Chick-fil-A opened its first location outside of North America by building a restaurant in
Durban
Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
.
[Alternate Link]
via NewsBank. A second location was opened in
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...
in November 1997.
Since neither of the South African locations was profitable, both of these locations were closed in 2001.
United Kingdom
A Chick-fil-A operated in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
during Spring 2018. On October 10, 2019, Chick-fil-A returned to Europe, with the opening of a store at
The Oracle shopping centre
A shopping center ( American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof.
The first known colle ...
in
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spell ...
, UK. The store closed in March 2020 after The Oracle opted not to continue the lease of the location beyond the six-month pilot period in the face of continued protests over the chain's anti-LGBTQ stance.
In February 2019, Chick-fil-A opened a store on a 12-month pilot scheme in
Aviemore, Scotland. The store was closed in January 2020 amidst protest and controversy from locals and customers regarding the chain's former donations to charities supporting anti-LGBT rights causes. The reason for closing however was not the controversy (only 1,000 signatures were gained in a petition) but the
pop-up nature of the experiment and the competition from more established outlets.
Planned locations
In July 2018, Chick-fil-A announced it would be opening its first location in Hawaii in Kahului in early 2022, with additional locations in Honolulu and Kapoleo to follow. In December 2020, it was announced the company would open a new location in
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
. The first Puerto Rican location opened on March 3, 2022 in
Bayamón.
Advertising
"Eat Mor Chikin" is the chain's most prominent advertising slogan, created by
The Richards Group
The Richards Group is an American advertising agency. It was once the largest independently-owned agency in the country. Working with founder Stan Richards, there are now far fewer than 35 creative group heads.
In October 2020, following racist c ...
in 1995.
The slogan is often seen in advertisements, featuring
Holstein dairy cows that are often seen wearing (or holding) signs that (usually) read "Eat Mor Chikin" in all capital letters. The ad campaign was temporarily halted on January 1, 2004 during a
mad cow disease scare, so as not to make the chain seem insensitive or appear to be taking advantage of the scare to increase its sales. Two months later, the cows were put up again. The cows replaced the chain's old mascot, Doodles, an
anthropomorphized
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.
Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
chicken who still appears as the C on the logo.
Chick-fil-A vigorously protects its intellectual property, sending
cease and desist
A cease and desist letter is a document sent to an individual or business to stop alleged illegal activity. The phrase "cease and desist" is a legal doublet, made up of two near-synonyms. The letter may warn that, if the recipient does not disc ...
letters to those they think have infringed on their trademarks. The corporation has successfully protested at least 30 instances of the use of an "eat more" phrase, saying that the use would cause confusion of the public, dilute the distinctiveness of their intellectual property, and diminish its value.
A 2011 letter to Vermont artist
Bo Muller-Moore
Robert "Bo" Muller-Moore is a silk screen artist based in Montpelier, Vermont, known for a legal dispute with fast food company Chick-fil-A.
Background
Circa 2000, Muller-Moore, at the instigation of a kale-farming friend, created a design featur ...
who
screen prints T-shirts reading: "Eat More Kale" demanded that he cease printing the shirts and turn over his website. The incident drew criticism from Vermont governor
Peter Shumlin
Peter Elliott Shumlin (born March 24, 1956) is an American politician from Vermont. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the List of governors of Vermont, 81st governor of Vermont from 2011 to 2017.
He ...
, and created backlash against what he termed Chick-fil-A's "corporate bullying." On December 11, 2014, Bo Muller-Moore announced that the U.S. Patent Office granted his application to trademark his "Eat More Kale" phrase. A formal announcement of his victory took place on December 12, 2014, with Shumlin and other supporters on the Statehouse steps. His public fight drew regional and national attention, the support of Shumlin, and a team of pro-bono law students from the University of New Hampshire legal clinic.
After 22 years with The Richards Group, Chick-fil-A switched to
McCann New York in 2016. Along with the cows, ads included famous people in history in a campaign called "Chicken for Breakfast. It's not as crazy as you think."
Sponsored events
;Chick-fil-A Classic
:The Chick-fil-A Classic is a high school basketball tournament held in
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the cit ...
, featuring nationally ranked players and teams. The tournament is co-sponsored by the Greater Columbia Educational Advancement Foundation (GCEAF), which provides scholarships to high school seniors in the greater Columbia area.
;
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Atlanta, Georgia since December 1968. Since 1997, it has been sponsored by Chick-fil-A and is officially known as the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. From 2006 to 2013, it was officially r ...
:The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, first known as the Peach Bowl until 2006 and renamed Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in 2014, is a college football
bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...
played each year in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, the mos ...
.
;
Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game
The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game is an annual series of college football games played on the opening weekend of the NCAA Division I FBS season in Atlanta, Georgia. Organized by the Peach Bowl, the event coincides with Labor Day weekend in the United ...
:The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game is an annual early-season college football game played at the
Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia; before 2017, it was played at the
Georgia Dome. It features two highly ranked teams, one of which has always been from the Southeastern Conference. In the 2012 season and again in the 2014 season, the event was expanded to two games. It was also two games in 2017.
;
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Challenge
Chick-fil-A ( , a play on the American English pronunciation of " filet") is an American fast food restaurant chain which is the country's largest which specializes in chicken sandwiches. Headquartered in College Park, Georgia, Chick-fil-A oper ...
:The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Challenge is a premier head coach and celebrity pro-am held each April at Reynold's Plantation on Lake Oconee.
Controversies
Same-sex marriage
Chick-fil-A has donated over $5 million, via the
WinShape Foundation
WinShape Foundation is an American charitable organization founded in 1984 by Truett Cathy, founder of fast-food restaurant chain Chick-fil-A, and his wife Jeanette Cathy. WinShape's sister foundation, Lifeshape, was started by the Cathys' dau ...
, to groups that oppose same-sex marriage. In response, students at several colleges and universities worked to ban or remove the company's restaurants from their campuses.
In June and July 2012, Chick-fil-A's
chief operating officer
A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the " C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if ...
Dan T. Cathy made several public statements about same-sex marriage, saying that those who "have the audacity to define what marriage is about" were "inviting God's judgment on our nation". Several prominent politicians expressed disapproval.
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and
Chicago Alderman Proco "Joe" Moreno said they hoped to block franchise expansion into their areas. The proposed bans drew criticism from liberal pundits, legal experts, and the
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
.
The Jim Henson Company, which had a ''
Pajanimals'' kids' meal toy licensing arrangement with Chick-fil-A, said it would cease its business relationship, and donate the payment to the
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
GLAAD (), an acronym of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals ...
. Chick-fil-A stopped distributing the toys, claiming that unrelated safety concerns had arisen prior to the controversy. Chick-fil-A released a statement on July 31, 2012, saying, "We are a restaurant company focused on food, service, and hospitality; our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena."
In response to the controversy, former
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...
Governor
Mike Huckabee initiated a Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day movement to counter a
boycott of Chick-fil-A launched by same-sex marriage activists. Many of the chain's stores reported record levels of customers that day.
The United States
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...
also responded to two cities that were preventing Chick-fil-A from opening in their international airport, citing "Federal requirements prohibit airport operators from excluding persons on the basis of religious creed from participating in airport activities that receive or benefit from FAA grant funding."
In April 2018, Chick-fil-A reportedly continued to donate to the
Fellowship of Christian Athletes
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is an international non-profit Christian sports ministry founded in 1954 and based in Kansas City, Missouri. It has staff offices located throughout the United States and abroad.
History
FCA was foun ...
, which opposes gay marriage.
In a November 18, 2019 interview, Chick-fil-A president Tim Tassopoulos said the company would stop donating to
The Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Drive-through traffic
The popularity of Chick-fil-A's drive-throughs in the United States has led to traffic problems, police interventions, and complaints by neighboring businesses in more than 20 states. The long drive-through lines have been reported to cause traffic backups, blocking emergency vehicles and city buses and increasing the risk of collisions and pedestrian injuries.
Related restaurants
Hapeville Dwarf House
Truett Cathy opened his first restaurant in 1946, The Dwarf Grill – later renamed the Dwarf House – in
Hapeville, Georgia
Hapeville is a city in Fulton County, Georgia, United States, that is 2.5 square miles wide. Hapeville is located inside I-285 between the city of Atlanta to its North and the Atlanta International Airport to its south. The population was 6,553 ...
, and developed the pressure-cooked chicken breast sandwich there.
At the original Chick-fil-A Dwarf Grill, in addition to the full-size entrances, there is also an extra small-sized front door.
The original Dwarf House in Hapeville, Georgia is open 24 hours a day, six days a week, except on Sundays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. The store closes at 10:00 p.m. on Saturday nights, and the day before Thanksgiving and Christmas and reopens at 6 a.m. on Monday mornings and the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas. It has a larger dine-in menu than the other Dwarf House locations as well as an animated seven dwarfs display in the back of the restaurant.
It was across the street from the former
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
factory called
Atlanta Assembly.
Dwarf House
Opened in 1986, Truett's original, full-service restaurants offer a substantial menu and provide customers a choice of table service, walk-up counter service or a drive-thru window. There are currently five of the original eleven Chick-fil-A Dwarf House restaurants still operating in the metro Atlanta area, including Duluth, Riverdale, Jonesboro, Forest Park and Fayetteville.
Truett's Grill
In 1996, the first Truett's Grill was opened in
Morrow, Georgia. The second location opened in 2003 in
McDonough, Georgia
McDonough is a city in Henry County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. Its population was 22,084 at the 2010 census, up from 8,493 in 2000. The city is the county seat of Henry County. The unincorporated com ...
, and a third location opened in 2006 in
Griffin, Georgia. Similar to the Chick-fil-A Dwarf Houses, these independently owned restaurants offer traditional, sit-down dining and expanded menu selections in a diner-themed restaurant. In 2017, Chick-fil-A demolished several Dwarf House locations to replace them with Truett's Grill locations.
Truett's Chick-fil-A
Truett's Chick-fil-A is designed in honor of founder S. Truett Cathy. The restaurant is decorated with family photos and favorite quotes of the restaurant founder. The restaurant offers drive-thru, counter, and sit-down service. The restaurant offers breakfast, lunch and dinner. There are four locations including
Newnan
Newnan is a city in Metro Atlanta and the county seat of Coweta County, Georgia, about southwest of Atlanta. Its population was 42,549 at the 2020 census, up from 33,039 in 2010.
History
Newnan was established as county seat of Coweta Cou ...
,
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
,
Stockbridge, and
Woodstock, Georgia.
Truett's Luau
Truett Cathy visited Hawaii and loved the experience so much that he wanted to bring Hawaii to Fayetteville Georgia. At the age of 92 he opened Truett's Luau in 2013. The menu includes island favorites with a southern spin. The restaurant offers sit down, counter and drive-thru service.
Senior leadership
Chick-fil-A has been run by the Cathy family since the restaurant chain's founding in 1946; it is currently being led by the third-generation of the Cathy family.
List of chairmen
#
S. Truett Cathy
Samuel Truett Cathy (March 14, 1921 September 8, 2014) was an American businessman, investor, author, and philanthropist. He founded the fast food restaurant chain Chick-fil-A in 1946.
Early life
Cathy was born on March 14, 1921, in Eatonton ...
(1946–2013)
#
Dan Cathy
Daniel Truett Cathy (born March 1, 1953) is an American businessman. He is the Chairman of the Board and VP of fast-food chain Chick-fil-A, which was founded and expanded by his father, S. Truett Cathy. He has a net worth of $7.1 billion as of ...
(2013– )
List of chief executives
#
S. Truett Cathy
Samuel Truett Cathy (March 14, 1921 September 8, 2014) was an American businessman, investor, author, and philanthropist. He founded the fast food restaurant chain Chick-fil-A in 1946.
Early life
Cathy was born on March 14, 1921, in Eatonton ...
(1946–2013)
#
Dan Cathy
Daniel Truett Cathy (born March 1, 1953) is an American businessman. He is the Chairman of the Board and VP of fast-food chain Chick-fil-A, which was founded and expanded by his father, S. Truett Cathy. He has a net worth of $7.1 billion as of ...
(2013–2021)
# Andrew T. Cathy (2021– )
Menu
Based on data from 2018, the most popular (most ordered) item was the
waffle fries followed by soft drinks, chicken nuggets, and the original chicken sandwich. These items should be available at every franchise location with some locations offering the full menu or close to the full menu. The full list of menu items and nutrition information can be found on Chick-fil-A's website.
See also
*
List of chicken restaurants
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Companies based in Fulton County, Georgia
Fast-food chains of the United States
Fast-food poultry restaurants
Hapeville, Georgia
Economy of the Southeastern United States
Privately held companies based in Georgia (U.S. state)
Restaurants established in 1946
1946 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
Cathy family
Chicken chains of the United States