Chick-fil-A, Inc. (/ˌtʃɪkfɪˈleɪ/CHIK-fil-AY, aplay on theAmerican English pronunciation of "filet") is an Americanfast food restaurant chain and the largest chain specializing inchicken sandwiches.[5] Headquartered inCollege Park, Georgia, Chick-fil-A operates restaurants across 48 states, as well as in theDistrict of Columbia andPuerto Rico.[1][6] The company also has operations in Canada and the United Kingdom, and previously had restaurants in South Africa. Chick-fil-A has announced plans to open stores in both the UK and Singapore in late 2025.[7] The restaurant has a breakfast menu and a lunch and dinner menu. The chain also provides catering services.[8] Chick-fil-A calls its specialty the "original chicken sandwich". It is a piece ofdeep-friedbreaded bonelesschicken breast served on a toastedbun with two slices ofdill pickle, or with lettuce, tomato, and cheese.[9]
Many of the company's values are influenced by the Christian religious beliefs of its late founder,S. Truett Cathy (1921–2014), a devoutSouthern Baptist. Reflecting a commitment toSunday Sabbatarianism, allChick-fil-A restaurants are closed for business on Sundays,[10][11]Thanksgiving, andChristmas Day.[12] The company'sconservative opposition tosame-sex marriage hascaused controversy; the company began to loosen its stance on this issue from 2019.[13] Even among numerous controversies and boycott attempts, the 2022American Customer Satisfaction Index found that Chick-fil-A remained the country's favorite fast food chain for the eighth consecutive year, and it has the highest per store sales of any fast food chain in the nation.[14][15]
The chain's origin can be traced to the Dwarf Grill (now theDwarf House), a restaurant opened byS. Truett Cathy (the chain's former chairman and CEO) in 1946 in theAtlanta suburb ofHapeville, Georgia.[16] The original store was located near the Ford Motor CompanyAtlanta Assembly Plant, a source of many of the restaurant's patrons for years. It was later remodeled, reopening in 2022.[17]
In 1961, after 15 years in the fast-food business, Cathy found a pressure fryer that could cook a chicken sandwich at the same time it took to cook a hamburger.[18] 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,"[19] refers to their flagship menu item, the Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich. Though Chick-fil-A was the first national chain to make a fast, fried chicken sandwich its flagship item, it has been shown that Cathy's claim to have "invented the chicken sandwich" is false.[20]
From 1964 to 1967, the sandwich was licensed to over fifty eateries, includingWaffle House and the concession stands of the new HoustonAstrodome.[21][22] The Chick-Fil-A sandwich was withdrawn from sale at other restaurants when the first dedicated location opened in 1967, in thefood court of theGreenbriar Mall in Atlanta.[16]
The chain expanded in the 1970s and early 1980s by opening new locations in suburban malls' food courts.[23] The first freestanding location was opened April 16, 1986, on North Druid Hills Road in Atlanta, Georgia,[24] and the company began to focus more on stand-alone units rather than food courts. Although it has expanded outward from its original geographic base, most new restaurants are located in suburban areas of the Southern US.[16]
On December 17, 2017, Chick-fil-A broke their tradition and opened on a Sunday to prepare meals for passengers left stranded during a power outage at AtlantaHartsfield-Jackson International Airport;[31] further, on January 13, 2019, a Chick-fil-A franchise inMobile, Alabama, opened on Sunday to honor a birthday wish of a 14-year-old boy withcerebral palsy andautism.[32]
On February 13, 2023, they began offering their first non-meat sandwich, a breaded cauliflower sandwich.[33]
In May 2023, Chick-fil-A closed its original location in Greenbriar Mall, without stating a reason.[34]
Business model
Chick-fil-A inHillsboro, Oregon, formerly a Newport Bay restaurant. This unit opened in March 2016 and was the first in Oregon to open in over a decade.
Chick-fil-A's business strategy involves a focus on a small menu and on customer service.[35] While many fast food chains offer many dishes, Chick-fil-A's is focused on selling chicken sandwiches.[35] The name's capital A is intended to indicate that their chicken is "grade A top quality".[36] The company's emphasis on customer service is reported to have contributed to its success[37][38] and growth in the United States.[35][37]
Chick-fil-A builds and owns its restaurants.[39] Chick-fil-A franchisees need aUS$10,000 initial investment.[40] Franchisees are selected and trained, a process that can take months.
Chick-fil-A grossed an average of $6.71 million per restaurant in 2022, despite opening only 6 days a week, the highest sales of all fast-food restaurants in the United States. (Raising Cane's was second with $5.44 million per restaurant average).[41]
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 that year.[42][43][44]
To compete with Chick-fil-A, the fried chicken chainPopeyes, followed by others, introduced a fried chicken sandwich in 2019, a marketing trend known as theChicken Sandwich Wars.
Retail sale of sauces
In the spring of 2020, Chick-fil-A test-trialed the sale of two of their dipping sauces at some supermarkets in Florida, with all profits earmarked for a scholarship fund for the company's store-level employees.[45][46] The trial was considered successful, and distribution was expanded nationwide by 2021.[47] Two more sauces were added in 2023.[48]
In October 2022, the company trialed expansion of the program to include its salad dressings in the Cincinnati metropolitan area and in parts of Tennessee,[49][50] and expanded nationwide in spring 2023.[51]
In January 2025, Chick-fil-A announced plans to centralize itslemonade production by moving it from its restaurant locations to a single, automated facility in California. This new plant is capable of processing between 30 and 35 truckloads of lemons daily, with each truckload containing 50,000 pounds of lemons.[52]
Financial performance
In 2024, Chick-fil-A reported systemwide sales of $22 billion, ranking it among the top three U.S. restaurant chains by sales, alongsideMcDonald's ($53.5 billion) andStarbucks ($30.4 billion). The chain achieved this with 3,109 locations, compared to McDonald's 13,559 U.S. locations. Chick-fil-A's average unit volume was $7.5 million per location, the highest among major U.S. fast-food chains.[53]
Corporate culture
S. Truett Cathy was a devoutSouthern Baptist; his religious beliefs had a major impact on the company.[54] 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."[55] Cathy opposed the company becomingpublic for religious and personal reasons.[56]
A company spokesperson said in 2012, "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."[57]
Sunday closing
In accordance with the founder's belief in the Christian doctrine offirst-day Sabbatarianism, all Chick-fil-A locations areclosed on Sundays,[11][58]Thanksgiving, andChristmas.[59] Cathy said "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."[60]
In an interview with ABC News'sNightline, Truett's sonDan T. Cathy told reporterVicki Mabrey 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."[61]
Even Chick-fil-A locations at sports stadiums close on Sundays, although many games are played on Sundays.[62]
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.[63][64][65]
In 2025, the company reported that up to 60% of its sales are from drive-through traffic.[66]
Lenten observance
During theWestern Christian liturgical season ofLent,Chick-fil-A has in the past promoted fish sandwiches, following the Christian tradition ofabstinence from meat during Lent.[67][68] They no longer offer this product.[69]
Serving chicken without antibiotics
In February 2014, Chick-fil-A announced plans to serve chicken raised without antibiotics in its restaurants nationwide within five years, the first fast-food restaurant to make this commitment.[70] This was implemented by May 2019.[71] Later the company stated that "to maintain supply of the high-quality chicken", they would shift from a policy of No Antibiotics Ever (NAE) to No Antibiotics Important To Human Medicine (NAIHM) starting in the spring of 2024.[71] In March 2024, Chick-fil-A announced it would depart from the company's previous commitment of using only "antibiotic-free" chicken.[72][73]
Removal of additives
In 2011, food blogger and activistVani Hari noted that Chick-fil-A sandwiches contained nearly 100 ingredients, includingpeanut oil preserved withtert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), made frombutane.[74] In October 2012, Chick-fil-A invited Hari to meet with company executives at its headquarters.[75] In December 2013, Chick-fil-A said that it was removinghigh-fructose corn syrup and artificialdyes, and was testing a new peanut oil[needs update]. Like other companies, Chick-fil-A does not publicly announce such changes unless already in the news, because it focuses on these ingredients.[75]
Cage-free eggs
In 2016, Chick-fil-A pledged to use only cage-free eggs by 2026. In 2025, the company backtracked from this commitment, citing barriers such as industry dynamics and bird flu.[76]
Chick-fil-A opened a restaurant inToronto,Ontario, on September 6, 2019, in the Yonge and Bloor Street area. There were protests criticizing the company's violation of animal rights and "history of supporting anti-LGBTQ causes".[82] Chick-fil-A announced that it would open two other locations in Toronto during 2019, and 12 additional stores in theGreater Toronto Area over the subsequent five years.[83] The chain's second Toronto location opened at theYorkdale Shopping Centre in January 2020.[84]
The company expanded to other areas of Ontario in 2021, opening standalone locations with drive-through restaurants inKitchener in August andWindsor in October.[85][86]
In 2024, the company opened locations inAlberta, one being in the Phase III food court ofWest Edmonton Mall in Edmonton.[87] and the other being inCalgary located on Macleod Trail.
In 2025, despite freezing cold, hundreds of customers started lining up outside the restaurant as early as five in the morning inCambridge, Ontario.[88]
South Africa
In August 1996, Chick-fil-A opened its first location outside of North America by building a restaurant inDurban, South Africa.[89] A second location was opened inJohannesburg in November 1997.[90] Neither was profitable, and they were closed in 2001.[91]
United Kingdom
A Chick-fil-A operated inEdinburgh during the Spring of 2018.[92] On October 10, 2019, Chick-fil-A returned to Europe, with the opening of a store atThe Oracleshopping centre inReading, UK.[93] 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.[94]
In February 2019, Chick-fil-A opened a store on a 12-month pilot scheme inAviemore, Scotland. The store was closed in January 2020 amidst protests and controversy from locals and customers regarding the chain's former donations to charities supporting anti-LGBT rights causes. Chick-fil-A said that they had always planned a short-term stay at the location.[95]
Later, the company changed some policies, appointing its first head of diversity in 2020, and focused its charitable activities on education and hunger alleviation rather than opponents of same-sex marriage. In September 2023, the company planned to open five restaurants in the UK from early 2025, investing over $100M over the following ten years in the UK. The chain said that it would apply its charitable policies, including a $25,000 donation to a local organization on opening a Chick-fil-A restaurant and donation of surplus food to local charitable causes, to its UK branches too.[96]
Chick-fil-A opened its first location inPuerto Rico in 2022 and by 2024 had expanded to seven restaurants,[99] with the plan for up to 25 locations by 2030. The unique menu includescoffee 100% grown and roasted in Puerto Rico.
Expansion to Asia and Europe
Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew Cathy announced in March2023 that it planned to open restaurants in Asia and Europe by 2026, and was set to expand to five overseas markets by 2030. TheWall Street Journal reported that it was seeking countries with "stable economies, dense populations, and a demand for chicken".[100]
Singapore
Chick-fil-A opened a pop-up restaurant at Esplanade Mall for three days from June 26 through 28, 2024, being the first Asian country to host a Chick-fil-A pop-up.[101] On October 17, 2024, Chick-fil-A officially announced it would be opening in Singapore in late 2025, making the first Asian country to open the brand, and would be investing US$75 million into its first restaurant in the country for 10 years.[102]
Planned locations
Chick-fil-A has announced plans to open stores in both the UK and Singapore in late 2025.[103]
Advertising
Chick-fil-A trucks displaying the "Eat Mor Chikin" slogan
"Eat Mor Chikin" is the chain's most prominent advertising slogan, created byThe Richards Group in 1995.[10] The slogan is often seen in advertisements featuringHolsteindairy cows[104] that are often seen wearing (or holding) signs that (usually) read "Eat Mor Chikin" in capital letters. The ad campaign was temporarily halted on January 1, 2004, during amad 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.[citation needed] The cows replaced the chain's old mascot, Doodles, ananthropomorphized chicken that still appears as the C on the logo.[105][106]
Chick-fil-A vigorously protects its intellectual property, sendingcease and desist letters to those they think have infringed on their trademarks.[107] 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.[108]
A 2011 letter to Vermont artistBo Muller-Moore whoscreen prints T-shirts reading: "Eat More Kale" demanded that he cease printing the shirts and turn over his website.[109] The incident drew criticism from Vermont governorPeter Shumlin, and created backlash against what he termed Chick-fil-A's "corporate bullying".[110] 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.[111]
After 22 years with The Richards Group, Chick-fil-A switched toMcCann 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."[112]
Sponsored events
Chick-fil-A Classic
The Chick-fil-A Classic is a high school basketball tournament held inColumbia, South Carolina, featuring nationally ranked players and teams.[113][114] 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.[needs update]
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 footballbowl game played each year inAtlanta, Georgia.[115]
The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game is an annual early-season college football game played at theMercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia; before 2017, it was played at theGeorgia Dome. It features two highly ranked teams, one of which has always been from the Southeastern Conference. The event was expanded to two games in the 2012 season and again in the 2014 season. It was also two games in 2017.[citation needed] On July 12, 2023, Georgia-based insurance companyAflac, became the new sponsor of the game.[116]
Chick-fil-A has donated over $5 million, via theWinShape Foundation, to groups that opposesame-sex marriage.[117][118][119] In response, students at several colleges and universities worked to ban or remove the company's restaurants from their campuses.[120][121][122]
In June and July 2012, Chick-fil-A'schief operating officer 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".[123] Several prominent politicians expressed disapproval.[124]Boston MayorThomas Menino andChicago AldermanProco "Joe" Moreno said they hoped to block franchise expansion into their areas.[125] The proposed local bans drew criticism from liberal pundits, legal experts, and theAmerican Civil Liberties Union.[126]
The Jim Henson Company, which had aPajanimals kids' meal toy licensing arrangement with Chick-fil-A, said it would cease its business relationship, and donate the payment to theGay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.[127] Chick-fil-A stopped distributing the toys, claiming that unrelated safety concerns had arisen before the controversy.[128] 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."[129]
In response to the controversy, formerArkansas GovernorMike Huckabee initiated a Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day movement to counter aboycott of Chick-fil-A launched by same-sex marriage activists. Many of the chain's stores reported record levels of customers that day.[130][131][132] The United StatesFederal Aviation Administration 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."[133]
In April 2018, Chick-fil-A reportedly continued to donate to theFellowship of Christian Athletes, which opposes gay marriage.[10][134][135] In a November 18, 2019 interview, Chick-fil-A president Tim Tassopoulos said the company would stop donating toThe Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.[136][137]
Related restaurants
Hapeville Dwarf House
Truett Cathy opened his first restaurant in 1946, The Dwarf Grill – later renamed the Dwarf House – inHapeville, Georgia, and developed the pressure-cooked chicken breast sandwich there.[16] At the original Chick-fil-A Dwarf Grill, there is also an extra small-sized front door in addition to the full-size entrances.[138]
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 p.m. on Monday mornings and the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas. It has a larger dine-in menu than the other Dwarf House locations, and an animated seven-dwarf display is at the back of the restaurant.[138] It was across the street from the formerFord Motor Company factory calledAtlanta Assembly.
Dwarf House
Opened in 1986, Truett's original, full-service restaurants offer a substantial menu and provide customers with table service, walk-up counter service, or a drive-thru window. There are 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.[16]
Truett's Grill
In 1996, the first Truett's Grill was opened inMorrow, Georgia. The second location opened in 2003 inMcDonough, Georgia, and a third location opened in 2006 inGriffin, Georgia.[139] 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.[140][141][142] In 2017, Chick-fil-A demolished several Dwarf House locations to replace them with Truett's Grill locations.[143][144]
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 for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There are four locations includingNewnan,Rome,Stockbridge, andWoodstock, Georgia.[145][146]
Truett's Luau
Truett Cathy visited Hawaii; at the age of 92, he opened Truett's Luau in Fayetteville, Georgia, in 2013.[147] The menu includes island favorites with a southern US spin. The restaurant offers sit-down, counter, and drive-thru service.
Chick-fil-a Dwarf House entrance, Griffin, Spalding County, Georgia
Truett's Grill, 1455 N Express Way, Griffin, Spalding County, Georgia
Chick-fil-a Dwarf House, Griffin, Spalding County, Georgia
Senior leadership
Chicken sandwich and waffle fries from Chick-fil-A
The Cathy family has run Chick-fil-A since the restaurant chain's founding in 1946; as of 2025[update] it was being led by the third generation of the Cathy family.[148]
In 2018, the most-ordered item was thewaffle fries, followed by soft drinks, chicken nuggets, and the original chicken sandwich.[149] Chick-fil-A's website lists all menu items and nutrition information.[150]
^abcde"Company Fact Sheet".Chick-fil-A. n.d.Archived from the original on November 11, 2016. RetrievedJuly 30, 2012.Headquarters Chick-fil-A, Inc. 5200 Buffington Road Atlanta, GA 30349-2998
^Vesey, Susannah (August 25, 1994)."Outlet in Canada to open Sept. 8".Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. F/3.Archived from the original on September 9, 2018. RetrievedSeptember 9, 2018.In another new venture, Chick-fil-A will open its first Canadian outlet on Sept. 8 in the student center food court at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. The unit, which will serve a limited menu, will be run under a license agreement by the Canadian company Versa Services.Alternate link viaNewsBank.
^"Business in brief - Chick-fil-A in Africa".Atlanta Journal-Constitution. July 13, 1996. p. C3.Archived from the original on September 9, 2018. RetrievedSeptember 9, 2018.Chick-fil-A Inc. will open its first restaurant outside North America in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, next month. The Atlanta-based company said it granted DanCor Investments Pty Ltd., a family-owned South African company, exclusive rights to develop and operate 50 stores in southern Africa, of which 20 to 30 will be built in South Africa. Danie van den Heever, DanCor's founder and chairman, was named chief executive of Chick-fil-A Southern Africa, a new company formed to hold and operate the chicken franchise.Alternate Link viaNewsBank.
^Campbell, Sarah Ray (April 1, 2017)."Chick-fil-A explains changes".The Newnan Times-Herald.Archived from the original on August 15, 2017. RetrievedAugust 15, 2017.
US$21.6 billion (2023)[2][3]
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