Chick-fil-A is famously closed on Sunday, and unfortunately, no craving for chicken
can hack that schedule.
When a restaurant is as popular as Chick-fil-A, why in the world would they close a whopping
52 days a year?
It turns out the answer is a little more complicated than you may have thought.
It's human nature to want what we can't have.
This explains why you probably crave Chick-fil-A the most on the one day you can't have it
-- Sunday.
Is this psychological phenomenon the real reason Chick-fil-A closes one day a week?
In a word, no, but it probably doesn't hurt to encourage a little Monday afternoon spike
in traffic.
"It's my belief that our food tastes just a little bit better on Monday when we're closed
on Sunday."
According to Restaurant Business magazine, Chick-fil-A's once-a-week closure helps in
giving a "perception of limited supply," but there are other important ways that the policy
works to the company's advantage.
For one, it's "respectable."
Restaurant Business explains that it shows that the company is willing to miss out on
some revenue to give franchisees and employees a guaranteed day off each week, and in turn
allows the franchisees to use it as a perk in recruiting.
Happier employees mean better business, right?
All in all, it's a win for the company, and an even bigger win for those somewhat literate
cows!
Chick-fil-A is serious about the whole not-opening-on-Sundays thing.
Even the Chick-fil-A restaurants in football stadiums refuse to make exceptions for special
Sunday events, like Super Bowl Sunday -- which is arguably the most popular Sunday of the
year.
If Chick-fil-A won't open for Super Bowl Sunday -- even in the stadium where the actual game
is being played -- you'd think that all Sundays would be off the table, no matter the reason.
But the restaurant has made a few exceptions.
Over the years, a handful of incidents have prompted Chick-fil-A to fire up those deep-fryers
-- but, unfortunately, the circumstances behind the openings haven't been so great.
Basically, if they're serving sandwiches on a Sunday, you can be sure that something pretty
bad has probably happened.
As a company spokesperson told Business Insider:
"While Chick-fil-A is always closed on Sunday, our restaurants open occasionally to serve
communities in need."
Examples of the restaurant serving "communities in need" include prepping and donating meals
for the rescue teams and evacuees of North Carolina's destructive Hurricane Florence
in 2018, feeding thousands of hungry, stranded passengers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International
Airport in 2017 after the power went out indefinitely, and feeding first responders of the Orlando
Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016.
The moral of the story?
Chick-fil-A has no interest in profiting from Sundays, but they do have an interest in lending
a helping hand -- and a delicious chicken sandwich.
It's no secret that the founder of Chick-fil-A, Truett Cathy, was a devout Christian.
After all, the company's website even says its "corporate purpose" is 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 into contact with Chick-fil-A."
It shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, then, that Cathy's "closed on Sunday" policy
originally stemmed from his religious beliefs -- including one particular bible verse.
"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
Six days you should labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to
the Lord your God.
On it, you shall do no work."
According to a Chick-fil-A press release from 2009:
"[Truett] Cathy believes that being closed on Sunday says two important things to people:
One, that there must be something special about the way Chick-fil-A people view their
spiritual life; and, two, that there must be something special about how Chick-fil-A
feels about its people"
More recently, however, the company seems to have walked back from this explanation
a bit in favor of a slightly less Christian-centric one.
If you visit Chick-fil-A's website today, you won't find a lengthy explanation of Truett
Cathy's Christian beliefs and how they influenced his decision to enact his "closed on Sunday"
policy.
What you will find is a brief blurb which reads:
"Our founder, Truett Cathy, made the decision to close on Sundays in 1946 when he opened
his first restaurant in Hapeville, Georgia [...] Truett saw the importance of closing
on Sundays so that he and his employees could set aside one day to rest and worship if they
choose — a practice we uphold today."
As Cathy's son, Dan Cathy, explained in a 2009 ABC News interview:
"He figured if he didn't like working on Sunday that other people didn't, either.
He said, 'I don't want to ask people, other people, to do that which I'm not willing to
do myself.'"
Fair is fair.
Unfortunately, there's no super secret Chick-fil-A location that's open on Sundays, but there
is a way to ensure you're prepared for a Sunday craving, as long as Nuggets or Chick-N-Strips
can do the trick.
Chick-fil-A conveniently sells trays of chilled nuggets and strips, which you can purchase
on a Saturday and reheat on a Sunday.
And before you ask, of course it comes complete with all your favorite sauces.
What good is a tray of nuggets without that sweet, tangy, Chick-fil-A Sauce, anyway?
Of course, oven-reheated deep-fried tenders or nuggets are never as good as the real thing
served fresh from bubbling oil, but at least it's something.
While the company does offer their entire menu through their catering division, it's
probably safe to say that you're better off skipping the sandwiches and waffle fries if
you're planning to wait a day to eat them -- unless soggy buns and limp fries are your
thing.
No judgement here.
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