Chick-fil-A, Inc. ( , a

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

on the

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lang ...

pronunciation of " filet") is an American

fast food restaurant A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast food, fast-food cuisine and has minimal Foodservice#Table service, table service. The food served ...

chain and the largest chain specializing in

chicken sandwich A chicken sandwich is a sandwich that typically consists of boneless, skinless chicken breast or thigh, served between slices of bread. Variations on the "chicken sandwich" include chicken on a bun, chicken on a Kaiser, hot chicken, or chicken sa ...

es. Headquartered in

College Park, Georgia College Park is a city in Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton and Clayton County, Georgia, Clayton counties, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States, adjacent to the southern boundary of the city of Atlanta. As of the 2020 United States census, ...

, Chick-fil-A operates restaurants across 48 states, as well as in the

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

and

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. The company also has operations in Canada, and previously had restaurants in the United Kingdom and South Africa. The restaurant has a breakfast menu and a lunch and dinner menu. The chain also provides catering services. Chick-fil-A calls its specialty the "original chicken sandwich". It is a piece of

deep-fried Deep frying (also referred to as deep fat frying) is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot fat, traditionally lard but today most commonly oil, as opposed to the shallow frying used in conventional frying done in a frying pan. N ...

breaded Breadcrumbs are a culinary ingredient consisting of flour or crumbled bread of varying dryness, sometimes with seasonings added. They are used for a variety of purposes, including breading or crumbing foods before frying (such as breaded cutlet ...

boneless

chicken breast Chicken is the most common type of poultry in the world. Owing to the relative ease and low cost of raising chickens—in comparison to mammals such as cattle or hogs—chicken meat (commonly called just "chicken") and chicken eggs have beco ...

served on a toasted

bun A bun is a type of bread that is round and small enough that it can generally be eaten hand-held. Whether a bun is considered sweetened or unsweetened differs between countries: it is considered sweetened in the United Kingdom, a savory bread in ...

with two slices of

dill pickle A pickled cucumber – commonly known as a pickle in the United States, Canada and Australia and a gherkin ( ) in Britain, Ireland, South Africa, and New Zealand – is a usually small or miniature cucumber that has been Pickling, pickled in ...

, or with lettuce, tomato, and cheese. 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 who 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 The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestantism in the United States, Pr ...

. Reflecting a commitment to

Sunday Sabbatarianism Sabbatarianism advocates the observation of the Sabbath in Christianity, in keeping with the Ten Commandments. The observance of Sunday as a day of worship and rest is a form of first-day Sabbatarianism, a view which was historically heralded ...

, all restaurants are closed for business on Sundays,

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

, 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 liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...

. The company's

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

opposition to

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

has caused controversy; the company began to loosen its stance on this issue from 2019. Despite numerous controversies and boycott attempts, the 2022

American Customer Satisfaction Index The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is an economic indicator that measures the satisfaction of consumers across the United States, U.S. Economic system, economy. It is produced by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI LLC) base ...

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.

History

The chain's origin can be traced to the Dwarf Grill (now the Dwarf House), a restaurant opened by

(the chain's former chairman and CEO) in 1946 in the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

suburb of

Hapeville, Georgia Hapeville, established 1891, is a city in Fulton County, Georgia, United States. The population was 6,553 at the 2020 census, an increase of 180 residents from the 2010 census. Etymology Hapeville is named for Dr. Samuel Hape, one of the ar ...

. The original store was located near the Ford Motor Company

Atlanta Assembly Atlanta Assembly was an automobile factory owned by Ford Motor Company in Hapeville, Georgia. The Atlanta Assembly plant was opened on December 1, 1947. Harbour Consulting rated it as the most efficient auto plant in North America in 2006. As par ...

Plant, a source of many of the restaurant's patrons for years. It was later remodeled, reopening in 2022. 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. 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 fast, fried chicken sandwich its flagship item, it has been shown that Cathy's claim to have "invented the chicken sandwich" is false. From 1964 to 1967, the sandwich was licensed to over fifty eateries, including

Waffle House Waffle House, Inc. is an American restaurant chain with over 2,000 locations in 25 states in the United States. The bulk of the locations are in the Midwest and the South, where the chain is a regional cultural icon. The menu consists mainly o ...

and the concession stands of the new Houston

Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, formerly and also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, was the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas, United States. It seated around 50,000 fans, with a record atte ...

. The Chick-Fil-A sandwich was withdrawn from sale at other restaurants when the first dedicated location opened in 1967, in the

food court A food court (in Asia-Pacific also called food hall or hawker centre) is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food Vendor, vendors and provides a common area for self-serve di ...

of the

Greenbriar Mall Greenbriar Mall is a shopping mall in the Greenbriar neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia that opened in 1965. The anchor stores are Beauty Master, Dollar Tree, Greenbriar Furniture, and Citi Trends. There are 2 vacant anchor stores that were onc ...

in Atlanta. The chain expanded in the 1970s and early 1980s 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 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. Since 1997, the Atlanta-based company has sponsored the

Peach Bowl The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played annually in Atlanta, Georgia, since December 30, 1968. The first three Peach Bowls were played at Bobby Dodd Stadium, Grant Field on the Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech c ...

, an annual

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

bowl game played in Atlanta on

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...

. Chick-fil-A also sponsors the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

and the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

of college athletics. In 2008, Chick-fil-A was among the first fast-food restaurants to become completely free of

trans fat Trans fat is a type of unsaturated fat that occurs in foods. Small amounts of trans fats occur naturally, but large amounts are found in some processed foods made with partially hydrogenated oils. Because consumption of trans fats is associated ...

s. In October 2015, the company opened its largest restaurant, a three-story restaurant in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

Chick-fil-A Sauce Sign at Spotsylvania Towne Centre

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 Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport; further, 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 was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

, 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, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may b ...

and

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

. On February 13, 2023, they began offering their first non-meat sandwich, a breaded cauliflower sandwich. In May 2023, Chick-fil-A closed its original location in Greenbriar Mall, without stating a reason.

Business model

Chick-fil-A's business strategy involves a focus on a small menu and on customer service. While many fast food chains offer many dishes, Chick-fil-A's is focused on selling chicken sandwiches. The name's capital A is intended to indicate that their chicken is "grade A top quality". The company's emphasis on customer service is reported to have contributed to its success and growth in the United States. Chick-fil-A builds and owns its restaurants. Chick-fil-A franchisees need a

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

10,000 initial investment. 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). 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. To compete with Chick-fil-A, the fried chicken chain

Popeyes Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc. is an American multinational chain of fried chicken restaurants founded in 1972 in New Orleans and headquartered in Miami. It is currently a subsidiary of Toronto-based Restaurant Brands International. , Popey ...

, followed by others, introduced a fried chicken sandwich in 2019, a marketing trend known as the Chicken 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. The trial was considered successful, and distribution was expanded nationwide by 2021. Two more sauces were added in 2023. 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, and expanded nationwide in spring 2023. In January 2025, Chick-fil-A announced plans to centralize its

lemonade Lemonade is a sweetened lemon-flavored drink. There are many varieties of lemonade found throughout the world. In some parts of the world, lemonade refers to an un-carbonated, traditionally, homemade drink, using lemon juice, water, and a sw ...

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.

Corporate culture

S. Truett Cathy was a devout

; 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. 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."

Sunday closing

In accordance with the founder's belief in the Christian doctrine of

first-day Sabbatarianism Sabbatarianism advocates the observation of the Sabbath in Christianity, in keeping with the Ten Commandments. The observance of Sunday as a day of worship and rest is a form of first-day Sabbatarianism, a view which was historically heralded ...

, all Chick-fil-A locations are closed on Sundays,

, and

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

. 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." In an interview with ABC News's ''

Nightline ''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News (United States), ABC News' Late night television in the United States, late-night television news program broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC in the United States with a franchis ...

'', Truett's son Dan T. Cathy told reporter Vicki 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." Even Chick-fil-A locations at sports stadiums close on Sundays, although many games are played on Sundays.

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. In 2025, the company reported that up to 60% of its sales are from drive-through traffic.

Lenten observance

During the

Western Christian Western Christianity is one of two subdivisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic Ch ...

liturgical season of

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

, has in the past promoted fish sandwiches, following the Christian tradition of abstinence from meat during Lent. They no longer offer this product.

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. This was implemented by May 2019. 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. In March 2024, Chick-fil-A announced it would depart from the company's previous commitment of using only "antibiotic-free" chicken.

Removal of additives

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. ...

noted 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 ...

preserved with

tert-butylhydroquinone ''tert''-Butylhydroquinone (TBHQ, tertiary butylhydroquinone, tBHQ) 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 preserva ...

(TBHQ), made from

butane Butane () is an alkane with the formula C4H10. Butane exists as two isomers, ''n''-butane with connectivity and iso-butane with the formula . Both isomers are highly flammable, colorless, easily liquefied gases that quickly vaporize at ro ...

. In October 2012, Chick-fil-A invited Hari to meet with company executives at its headquarters. In December 2013, Chick-fil-A said that it was removing

high-fructose corn syrup High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), also known as glucose–fructose, isoglucose, and glucose–fructose syrup, is a sweetener made from corn starch. As in the production of conventional corn syrup, the starch is broken down into glucose by enzy ...

and artificial

dyes Juan de Guillebon, better known by his stage name DyE, is a French musician. He is known for the music video of the single "Fantasy (DyE song), Fantasy" from his first album ''Taki 183 (album), Taki 183''. This video became popular, attracting ...

, and was testing a new peanut oil. Like other companies, Chick-fil-A does not publicly announce such changes unless already in the news, because it focuses on these ingredients.

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.

International locations

Canada

In September 1994, Chick-fil-A opened its first location outside of the United States inside a student centre food court at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

.Alternate link
via NewsBank. This location did not perform very well and was closed within two or three years. The company opened 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 square ...

in Alberta in May 2014, and closed it in 2019. Chick-fil-A opened a restaurant in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, 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 LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...

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 The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the Toronto, City of Toronto and the regional municipality, regional municipalities of Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham, Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton, Regional ...

over the subsequent five years. The chain's second Toronto location opened at the

Yorkdale Shopping Centre Yorkdale Shopping Centre is a shopping mall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at the southwest corner of the Ontario Highway 401, Highway 401 and Allen Road interchange. It spans of selling space and has sales of per square foot ( per square metre ...

in January 2020. The company expanded to other areas of Ontario in 2021, opening standalone locations with drive-through restaurants in Kitchener in August and Windsor in October. In 2024, the company opened locations in

, one being in the Phase III food court of

West Edmonton Mall West Edmonton Mall (WEM) is a large shopping mall in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, that is owned, managed, and operated by Triple Five Group. It is the second most visited mall in Canada, after the Toronto Eaton Centre in Toronto, followed by Met ...

in Edmonton. and the other being in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

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 in

Cambridge, Ontario Cambridge is a city in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, located at the confluence of the Grand River (Ontario), Grand and Speed River, Speed rivers, in the central part of the Ontario Peninsula. The city had a population ...

South Africa

In August 1996, Chick-fil-A opened its first location outside of North America by building a restaurant in

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

, South Africa.Alternate Link
via NewsBank. A second location was opened in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

in November 1997. Neither was profitable, and they were closed in 2001.

United Kingdom

A Chick-fil-A operated in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

during the Spring of 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 in American English, shopping centre in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, spelling differences), shopping complex, shopping arcade, ...

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

, 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 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. 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. Chick-fil-A have opened their first full UK restaurant in

Lisburn Lisburn ( ; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with t ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

in January 2025, followed by a second one in

Templepatrick Templepatrick (; ) is a village and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is northwest of Belfast, and halfway between the towns of Ballyclare and Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim. It is also close to Belfa ...

, Northern Ireland in February 2025 under a partnership with

Welcome Break Welcome Break Limited is a British motorway service station operator that operates 35 motorway service stations in England, Scotland and Wales. It is the second-largest motorway service area operator behind Moto. It also operates hotels and ...

, a subsidiary of

Applegreen Applegreen Limited is an Irish company founded in 1992 that operates 620 petrol stations in Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain (under the Welcome Break arm) and the United States. It is a major petrol retailer in Ireland, ...

Puerto Rico

Chick-fil-A opened its first location in

in 2022 and by 2024 had expanded to seven restaurants, with the plan for up to 25 locations by 2030. The unique menu includes

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

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. The ''Wall Street Journal'' reported that it was seeking countries with "stable economies, dense populations, and a demand for chicken".

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. 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.

Planned locations

In July 2018, Chick-fil-A announced it would be opening its first location in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

Kahului Kahului () is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It hosts the county's main airport ( Kahului Airport), a deep-draft harbor, light industrial areas, and commercial shoppi ...

in early 2022, with additional locations in Honolulu and Kapoleo to follow. The first Puerto Rican location opened on March 3, 2022, in Bayamón.

Advertising

Chick-fil-A truck at Airport West Distribution Center

"Eat Mor Chikin" is the chain's most prominent advertising slogan, created by

The Richards Group The Richards Group, now known as TRG, is an advertising agency in Dallas, Texas. The company was recognized as an Adweek Agency of the Year in 1988, 1990, 1994, and 2002. TRG’s “We’ll leave the light on for you” radio campaign for Motel ...

in 1995. The slogan is often seen in advertisements featuring

Holstein Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany. Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...

dairy cows Dairy cattle (also called dairy cows) are cattle bred with the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cattle generally are of the species '' Bos taurus''. Historically, little distinction was ...

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 a

mad cow disease Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is an incurable and always fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle. Symptoms include abnormal behavior, trouble walking, and weight loss. Later in the course of th ...

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 to ...

chicken that 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 by one party, often a business, to warn another party that they believe the other party is committing an unlawful act, such as copyright infringement, and that they will take legal action if the oth ...

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 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, he served as the 81st governor of Vermont from 2011 to 2017. He was first elected to the office in 2010, and was reelected to ...

, 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."

Same-sex marriage

Chick-fil-A has donated over $5 million, via the WinShape Foundation, to groups that oppose

. 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 (COO), also called chief operations officer, is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization (i.e. personnel, resources, and logistics). COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the C ...

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 The mayor of Boston is the head of the municipal government in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Boston has a mayor–council government. Boston's mayoral elections are nonpartisan (as are all municipal elections in Boston), and elect a may ...

Thomas Menino Thomas Michael Menino (December 27, 1942 – October 30, 2014) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Boston, from 1993 to 2014. He was the city's longest-serving mayor. He was elected mayor in 1993 after first serving three mont ...

and

Chicago Alderman The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms. The council is called into session regularly, usually monthly ...

Proco "Joe" Moreno said they hoped to block franchise expansion into their areas. The proposed local bans drew criticism from liberal pundits, legal experts, and the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...

The Jim Henson Company The Jim Henson Company, Inc., formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc. (commonly referred to as Henson), is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is kn ...

, which had a ''

Pajanimals ''Jim Henson's Pajanimals'' (a portmanteau of the words ''pajamas'' and ''animals'') is a children's television series created by Jeff Muncy and Alex Rockwell. The Pajanimals are characters that were made by Jim Henson's Creature Shop at The J ...

'' 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 () is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization. Originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals in the media and entertainment industries, it has since ex ...

. Chick-fil-A stopped distributing the toys, claiming that unrelated safety concerns had arisen before 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 West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

Governor

Mike Huckabee Michael Dale Huckabee (, born August 24, 1955) is an American diplomat, political commentator, Baptist minister, and politician serving as the 29th United States Ambassador to Israel, United States ambassador to Israel since 2025. A member of ...

initiated a Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day movement to counter a

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...

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 a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

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 nonprofit Christian sports ministry based in Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City. History FCA was founded in 1954 by Eastern Oklahoma State College, Eastern Oklahoma A&M basketball c ...

, 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 The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Related restaurants

Hapeville Dwarf House

Truett Cathy opened his first restaurant in 1946, The Dwarf Grill – later renamed the Dwarf House – in

, and developed the pressure-cooked chicken breast sandwich there. At the original Chick-fil-A Dwarf Grill, there is also an extra small-sized front door in addition to the full-size entrances. 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. It was across the street from the former

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

factory called

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.

Truett's Grill

In 1996, the first Truett's Grill was opened in

Morrow, Georgia Morrow is a city in Clayton County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. Its population was 6,569 in 2020. It is the home of Clayton State University and the Georgia Archives. History The community was named after ...

. 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 29,051 in 2020. The city is the county seat of Henry County. The unincorporated communities of Blacksville, Flippen, ...

, and a third location opened in 2006 in

Griffin, Georgia Griffin is a city in and the county seat of Spalding County, Georgia, Spalding County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a po ...

. 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 for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There are four locations including Newnan,

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Stockbridge, and

Woodstock, Georgia Woodstock is a city in Cherokee County, Georgia, United States. The population was 35,065 as of 2020 according to the US Census Bureau. Originally a stop on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, Woodstock is part of the Atlanta metropolitan a ...

Truett's Luau

Truett Cathy visited Hawaii; at the age of 92, he opened Truett's Luau in Fayetteville, Georgia, in 2013. The menu includes island favorites with a southern US spin. The restaurant offers sit-down, counter, and drive-thru service.

Senior leadership

The Cathy family has run Chick-fil-A since the restaurant chain's founding in 1946; it was being led by the third generation of the Cathy family.

List of chairmen

(1946–2013) # Dan Cathy (2013– )

List of chief executives

(1946–2013) # Dan Cathy (2013–2021) # Andrew T. Cathy (2021– )

List of presidents

# Jimmy Collins (1968–2001) # Tim Tassopoulos (2016.–2023) # Susannah Frost (2024– )

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Companies based in Atlanta Fast-food chains of the United States Fast-food poultry restaurants Fried chicken 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 Conservatism in the United States Organizations that oppose LGBTQ rights in the United States Sunday shopping