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Chick-fil-A

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Chick-fil-A
Company typePrivate
IndustryRestaurants
Founded1946 (first Dwarf House opened in Hapeville, Georgia)
1967 (first Chick-fil-A opened in Atlanta, Georgia)
HeadquartersCollege Park, Georgia, U.S.
Key people
S. Truett Cathy
Owner
Dan T. Cathy
President
ProductsSandwiches, chicken entrées
RevenueIncrease$3.5 billion USD (2010)
OwnerS. Truett Cathy

Chick-fil-A (pronounced /tʃɪk fɪ'leɪ/) is a quick service restaurant chain headquartered in College Park, Georgia, United States that specializes in chicken entrées[1][2] and is known for promoting the company's vision of Christian values; as such the chain does not serve gay persons, blacks, or single mothers.[3]

Though long associated with the southern United States, the chain has expanded into more of the country (see map below). As of February 2011, the chain has 1,539 locations in 39 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

The chain is famous for being closed on Sundays.

Chick-fil-A headquarters in College Park, Georgia
Chick-fil-A at Holcombe and Buffalo Speedway, Houston, Texas
A Chick-fil-A in the food court of The Galleria in Uptown Houston, Texas
States with Chick-fil-A restaurants in red
A series of Chick-fil-A trucks at the Airport West Distribution Center

History

Chick-fil-A had historically been identified with shopping malls, as the majority of its first locations were in their food courts. However, the first freestanding location was opened in 1986, and most new store openings today are as well.[4] This is emphasized by the fact that the chain now has over 800 such units.[5] It also has over two dozen drive-through-only locations.[5] There are also restaurants in universities, hospitals, and airports through licensing agreements.[5]

The chain grew from the Dwarf Grill (later the Dwarf House, a name still used by the chain), a restaurant opened by S. Truett Cathy, who is still the company's chairman, in the Atlanta suburb of Hapeville in 1946.[6] This restaurant is located near the now demolished Ford plant, where workers once caught meals between shifts. The first Chick-fil-A opened in a mall was established in Atlanta's Greenbriar Mall in 1967.[5] The company claims that their current slogan, "We Didn't Invent the Chicken, Just the Chicken Sandwich," is based on a true story: at a time when hamburgers dominated fast-food menus since the beginning, Cathy was credited with creating and inventing the chicken sandwich, which went on to be Chick-fil-A's flagship menu item. His big idea for the chicken sandwich stemmed from the idea of creating a quick way to serve food. He discovered that pressure cooking the chicken in peanut oil allowed for a fast serving time. The sandwich also comes with two pickles simply because that was the only condiment he had on hand when the sandwich was created.[citation needed]

Chick-fil-A achieved quite a bit of notability in October 2003, when it was publicly announced in a major ad campaign that a new store, opening in Goodyear, Arizona, on October 16, 2003, would offer, to the first 100 to enter its doors, coupons for a free combo meal every week for a year. Along with this promotion (which was widely featured on the Internet), the company threw a huge opening day carnival, complete with karaoke, free ice cream, klieg lights, and prize raffles. The "First 100" promotion is now held at the opening of every new Chick-fil-A restaurant, with people camping out for up to several days before the opening to guarantee their place in line.

Since 1997, the Atlanta-based company has been the title sponsor of the Peach Bowl, an annual college football bowl game played in Atlanta. Beginning in the 2006 season, the Peach Bowl became the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Chick-fil-A also is a key sponsor of the SEC, ACC, and Big 12 conferences of college athletics.[7][8]

"EAT MOR CHIKIN" is the chain's most prominent advertising slogan, created by The Richards Group. The slogan is often seen in advertisements featuring sign-wearing cows. According to Chick-fil-A's advertising strategies, the cows have united in an effort to reform American food, in an effort to reduce the amount of beef which is eaten. They wish the American public to refrain from eating beef burgers, common at Chick-fil-A's competitors, such as McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's, and instead focus on eating chicken, or "chikin" as the cows spell it. The ad campaign was temporarily halted during a mad cow disease scare in late 2003/early 2004 so as not to make the chain seem insensitive or appear to be taking advantage of the scare to increase its sales. A few months later, the cows were put up again. The cows replaced the chain's old mascot, Doodles, an anthropomorphized chicken[9] who still appears as the C on the logo.

Chick-fil-A Classic

The Chick-fil-A Classic is a high school basketball tournament held in Columbia, South Carolina.[10] The tournament is in its eighth year of operation and features nationally ranked players and teams.[11] 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.

Dwarf House

The Chick-fil-A Dwarf House has a "dwarf-sized" front door that children and some little people can use to enter.

The original Dwarf House in Hapeville, Georgia, is open 24 hours a day, six days a week. It closes at 4:00 AM Sunday morning, and re-opens at 6:00 AM on Monday. It has a larger dine-in menu than the other Dwarf House locations and it has a motorized seven dwarfs display in the back of the restaurant.

Truett's Grill

In 1996, the first Truett's Grill was opened in Morrow, Georgia. The second location opened in 2003 in McDonough, Georgia, and a third location opened in 2006 in Griffin, Georgia.[12] 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 atmosphere. One major difference to other Chick-fil-A restaurants, however, is the fact that beef products are served there, including steaks and hamburgers.[13][14][15]

Religious connections

Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy is a devout Christian who has taught Sunday School for over 51 years and whose religious beliefs permeate the company to this day. 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 and to have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A." The chain invests heavily in community services (especially for children and teenagers) and scholarships. Cathy's beliefs are also responsible for one of the chain's distinctive features: All Chick-fil-A locations (company-owned and franchised, whether in a mall or freestanding) are closed on Sundays.[16]

Our decision to close on Sunday was our way of honoring God and directing our attention to things more important than our business. If it took seven days to make a living with a restaurant, then we needed to be in some other line of work. Through the years, I have never wavered from that position.

— S. Truett Cathy [17]

In an interview with ABC News's Nightline, Dan Cathy, Truett's son, told Vicki Mabrey another reason why the company is closed on Sundays, saying his father opened his first restaurant on a Tuesday and "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." Cathy quoted his father Truett as saying "'I don't want to ask people to do that what I am not willing to do myself.'"[18]

Chick-fil-A has promoted religious groups via toys and CDs included in children's meals, much as movie studios promote new movies via McDonald's Happy Meal toys. These have ranged from including toys from the Christian television series VeggieTales in children's meals to including Financial Peace for Kids children's books by Christian financial guru Dave Ramsey and CDs from the Christian radio program Adventures in Odyssey,[19] as children's meal incentives. The last show mentioned is produced by the radio division of Focus on the Family, and typically heard on Christian radio stations.

Chick-fil-A's connection to Christianity has been brought before the courts when Aziz Latif, a Houston-based Muslim employee for 6 years, sued the company in 2002 for firing him, alleging that he was fired for his religious beliefs when he had refused to take part in an employee prayer.[20] The suit was settled on undisclosed terms.[21]

Chick-fil-A received prime product placement in the 2008 Christian-themed film Fireproof, in a scene in which the main character, working to save his troubled marriage, soothes his ill wife with the company's chicken noodle soup.[citation needed]

In 2011, various news outlets[22][23] reported that Chick-fil-A was co-sponsoring a marriage conference[22] along with the Pennsylvania Family Institute,[24] a 501(c)3 organization that seeks to "strengthen families by restoring to public life the traditional, foundational principles and values essential for the well-being of society".[25] PFI filed an amicus brief against the trial ruling striking down Proposition 8 in California.[26] They also lobbied against a state effort to ban discrimination in Pennsylvania on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.[27]

Responding to these news reports via their official company Facebook page, Chick-fil-A said “First and foremost, thanks for your patience as we made sure we gathered the facts in regards to recent postings. We have determined that one of our independent Restaurant Operators in Pennsylvania was asked to provide sandwiches to two Art of Marriage video seminars. As our fans, you know we do our best to serve our local communities, and one of the ways we do that is by providing food to schools, colleges, civic groups, businesses, places of worship, not-for-profit groups, etc. At his discretion, the local Operator agreed to simply provide a limited amount of food. Our Chick-fil-A Operators and their employees try very hard every day to go the extra mile in serving ALL of our customers with honor, dignity and respect.”[28]


Current products

Chick-fil-A's menu includes the classic Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich as well as a deluxe version of the sandwich, 8 and 12 count nugget entrees and combos, 3 and 4 count chicken strip entrees and combos, cool wraps, chicken salad sandwiches, chargrilled chicken sandwiches, as well as grilled or fried chicken salads. They also serve lemon pie, ice cream, hand-spun milk shakes, fudge nut brownies, cheesecake, fruit cups, coleslaw, carrot and raisin salad, yogurt parfaits, and their own brand of lemonade. Chick-fil-A also offers kid's meals that include 4 or 6 count nuggets, or 1 or 2 count chicken strips, with a choice of waffle fries or a fruit cup. On their breakfast menu they feature biscuit variations including chicken, bacon or sausage—with additions of egg and cheese available—as well as 3 or 4 count chick-n-minis. On June 7, 2010, Chick-fil-A released the spicy chicken sandwich and spicy chicken deluxe sandwich, which includes lettuce, tomato, and pepper-jack cheese. Building off of the success of the Spicy Chicken Sandwich, Chick-fil-A has recently introduced the Spicy Chicken Biscuit. They also recently wrapped up a 3-month test in which they served spicy chicken nuggets at select Chick-fil-A locations in Denver, CO, Baltimore, MD, Augusta, GA, and Cincinnati, OH. There has been no confirmation as to whether or not the spicy nuggets will become a permanent menu item.

References

  1. ^ "Company Fact Sheet". Retrieved May 19, 2009. "Headquarters Chick-fil-A, Inc. 5200 Buffington Road Atlanta, GA 30349-2998"
  2. ^ "City Maps[[College Park, Georgia|City of College Park]]". Retrieved May 25, 2009. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  3. ^ Emily Schmall (July 7, 2007). "The Cult of Chick-Fil-A". Forbes.com. Forbes Media. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
  4. ^ "Chick-fil-A". Chick-fil-A. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  5. ^ a b c "Chick-fil-A". Chick-fil-A. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  6. ^ "Chick-fil-A". Chick-fil-A. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  7. ^ Marilyn Odesser-Torpey. "Reaching Out to NASCAR Nation". QSR.
  8. ^ "Chick-fil-A, Dr Pepper Give Fans a Million Reasons to 'Eat Mor Chikin'". SEC Sports News.
  9. ^ Joe Guy Collier (2008-07-09). "Dress-as-a-cow day reflects Chick-fil-A's 'have fun' culture". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  10. ^ "Welcome to 8th Annual Chick-Fil-A Classic.com". Chick-fil-aclassic.com. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  11. ^ "GCEAF". Chick-Fil-A Classic. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  12. ^ "Truett's Grill". Truettsgrill.com. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  13. ^ "Chick-fil-A: Truett's Grill - Griffin". Cfarestaurant.com. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  14. ^ "Chick-fil-A: Truett's Grill - McDonough". Cfarestaurant.com. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  15. ^ "Chick-fil-A: Truett's Grill - Morrow". Cfarestaurant.com. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  16. ^ "Chick-fil-A". Chick-fil-A. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  17. ^ "About Truett." S Truett Cathy. Retrieved on May 26, 2009.
  18. ^ "Nightline(ABC-TV) presents: Chik-fil-A Wins Customers...by closing". September 23, 2009. Retrieved September 19, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |publication= ignored (help)
  19. ^ "Focus on the Family, Digital Praise Spice Up Chick-fil-A Kid's Meals Through 'Adventures In Odyssey' CD Giveaway".
  20. ^ Ruggless, Ron (2002). "Muslim sues Chick-fil-A over on-the-job prayer". Nation's Restaurant News.
  21. ^ The Cult of Chick-fil-A
  22. ^ a b [1]
  23. ^ Metro Weekly
  24. ^ [2]
  25. ^ Pennsylvania Family Institute Mission Statement
  26. ^ [3]
  27. ^ [4]
  28. ^ Official Chick-Fil-A Facebook Page
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