A restaurant has to be constantly changing in order to stay afloat — but those changes
don't have to be particularly earth-shattering.
Even relatively small changes can help a brand stay interesting — like, say, adding a new
menu item, or even implementing a new payment option.
And like so many other fast food restaurants out there, Chick-fil-A is constantly tinkering
around with how they do business.
While some fast-food chains seem to do more harm than good with their changes — looking
at you, Burger King — Chick-fil-A is generally on the right track.
As Today reported in June 2019,
"Chick-fil-A has been named the top quick-service chain in the country, according to the American
Customer Service Index."
Something like that doesn't just happen by accident.
Over the last 10 years, most of the company's changes have been for the better — like
the "no antibiotics ever" policy they adopted in September 2019.
But there's one change they've made over the last ten years that really just sort-of sucks.
Sure, we love the addition of macaroni and cheese to Chick-fil-A's menu as much as the
next chowhound... but the question on our mind is this: Where the heck is the coleslaw?
In late 2015, Chick-fil-A customers received a terrible blow — and with no warning at
all: The chain was getting rid of its coleslaw.
You heard that correctly.
Chick-fil-A even released a statement that read, in no uncertain terms:
"[We've] made the difficult decision to remove Cole Slaw from the menu on Jan. 18.
We know many of our customers love our Cole Slaw, yet we have also heard from them they
are looking for new tastes and healthier ways to eat in our restaurants."
Well, not surprisingly, people on social media had a thing or two to say about that surprising
development.
"Customers posted thousands of comments and complaints online, begging them to bring back
to the slaw."
In fact, upset customers are still reaching out to Chick-fil-A on Twitter and writing
things like,
"Bring back your coleslaw!!!!"
And
"Where's the coleslaw [...] I miss it"
It's not unusual for restaurants to try new items and scrap them if they don't work…
but that's what makes the removal of Chick-fil-A's coleslaw so very unusual.
See, the product was anything but new.
In fact, it had been on the menu since the very first Chick-fil-A opened in 1967.
By the end of January 2016, nary a bowl of coleslaw could be found in Chick-fil-A's restaurants.
This was the dawning of a new, dark, and totally coleslaw-less era.
Kale had officially taken over.
As an alarmist Fox News headline put it in January 2016,
"Chick-fil-A replaces coleslaw with trendy kale salad"
Sold as the "superfood side," the salad is a broccolini and kale blend made with maple
vinaigrette dressing, dried cherries, and walnuts.
In a word?
BOOOOOO...
At least the dish contains fewer calories than the coleslaw.
According to Nation's Restaurant News,
"The small size has 140 calories and the larger portion has 170 calories.
The medium coleslaw, by contrast, [had] 360 calories."
According to the Orlando Sentinel, David Farmer, Chick-fil-A's vice president of menu strategy
and development, had this to say about the new offering:
"The Superfood Side is not something you would expect to see at a fast food restaurant, and
we're thrilled to kick off 2016 with something that can help people stick to their New Year's
resolutions to eat healthfully."
As we've seen, Chick-fil-A's decision to exchange coleslaw for salad didn't exactly fill fans
with childlike joy.
They were mad.
But thankfully, the chain came up with something like a solution — presumably in the hopes
of taking out some of the sting.
They shared the recipe for their signature coleslaw on social media — and that recipe
had been kept a secret for over 70 years.
In the post, the company wrote:
"Because this recipe holds a special place in our hearts and history, we are excited
to give it to you to enjoy at home."
As we said, change is an important part of the restaurant biz… but it's still a total
bummer that coleslaw has been wiped off Chick-fil-A's menu, possibly for good.
We may get over it one day … but for now, we're still not ready to try that "superfood
side."
Not yet.
Baby steps.
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