Chick-fil-A

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Chick-Fil-A, Inc.

logo
legal form Corporation
founding 1946
Seat Atlanta , Georgia , United StatesUnited StatesUnited States 
management Dan T. Cathy
sales $ 6 billion (2015)
Branch System catering
Website www.chick-fil-a.com

A fast food restaurant in Laredo , Texas

Chick-fil-A (/ tʃɪkfᵻˈleɪ /, a play on the American pronunciation of "fillet") is the name of an American fast-food chain that was founded in 1946 and specializes in the sale of chicken products. The offer includes chicken sandwiches , wraps and salads. The company has more than 2,100 stores and competes with Popeyes and Church's Chicken . The management's negative attitude towards same-sex marriage caused controversy .

history

In 1946, the founder Truett Cathy opened his first restaurant in Atlanta under the name “The Dwarf Grill”. The first Chick-fil-A restaurant followed in 1967. After the chain's restaurants were initially only placed in shopping centers , the first separate restaurant opened in 1986 in Atlanta. In 1992 the company expanded with further restaurants; and in 1993 the first drive-in restaurant opened. 1997 opened another restaurant in Alpharetta . In 2000, Chick-fil-A restaurants topped $ 1 billion in sales for the first time, and in 2001 the 1000th restaurant opened. In 2003 the chain expanded further in the western United States, particularly in the US states of Utah , Arizona and California .

background

Map with the locations of restaurants in the United States from 2011
Truck with "Eat-Mor-Chikin" written on it

In 1984 Truett and Jeanette Cathy founded the charitable WinShape Foundation. In the USA, the 1995 advertising campaign "Eat-Mor-Chikin" (cows standing on two legs with cloak billboards) received a lot of attention and won several prizes. The main protagonists of the advertising campaign were three cows with posters asking not to eat them but chickens. Chick-fil-A is closed on Sundays for religious reasons. Founder Truett Cathy intended to give his employees a Sunday off. This tradition continues to this day .

Same-sex marriage controversy

In June 2012, Dan T. Cathy, then head of Chick-fil-A , rejected same-sex marriage in two public statements. Several prominent politicians then criticized Cathy. The mayor of Boston, Thomas Menino , expressed the hope that the chain could be prevented from spreading in his city. The mayors of San Francisco , Chicago and Washington took a similar position . The request to restrict the chain in its expansion, however, drew criticism from left and right commentators, legal experts and the civil rights organization American Civil Liberties Union .

The entertainment company The Jim Henson Company ended its collaboration with Chick-fil-A after Cathy's statements . The company had previously licensed the toys in Chick-fil-A 's children's menus . Mike Huckabee , former governor of the state of Arkansas , initiated a "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day" in the course of the discussion, on which opponents of same-sex marriage should eat at the company. The aim was to compensate for losses caused by calls for boycotts by proponents of same-sex marriage.

Chick-fil-A finally published a statement that said: “We are a restaurant company and we focus on food, service and hospitality. We intend to leave the discussion of same-sex marriage to the government and the political arena. "

The Federal Aviation Administration investigated two cases in 2019 in which cities allegedly tried to prevent Chick-fil-A branches from opening at their airports.

Media research came to the conclusion that the Chick-fil-A had donated to Christian conservative groups such as Focus on the Family or the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in the past . On November 18, 2019, Chick-fil-A head Tim Tassopoulos announced that he would no longer donate to the two groups criticized by LGBT activists, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Salvation Army , which was criticized in the Christian-conservative milieu . On January 8, 2020, the company announced that it would instead donate to Covenant House , a private organization that cares for the homeless and runaways. Covenant House takes special care of LGBT people, who are particularly affected by homelessness.

Web links

Commons : Chick-fil-A  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Facts and History , at www.chick-fil-a.com , accessed on March 2, 2016
  2. Who We Are , at www.chick-fil-a.com , accessed on March 25, 2017
  3. NRN
  4. Tiffany Hsu: Is Chick-fil-A anti-gay marriage? 'Guilty as charged,' leader says. Los Angeles Times, July 18, 2012, accessed June 28, 2020 .
  5. ^ What Dan Cathy said. Atlanta Journal Constitution, July 26, 2012, accessed June 28, 2020 .
  6. Ricardo Lopez, Tiffany Hsu: San Francisco is the third city to tell Chick-fil-A: Keep out. Los Angeles Times, July 26, 2012, accessed June 28, 2020 .
  7. ^ Greg Turner: Mayor Menino on Chick-fil-A: Stuff it. Boston Herald, July 20, 2012, accessed June 28, 2020 .
  8. Chick-fil-A is the new Mecca for the Conservatives. Financial Times Deutschland, August 2, 2012, accessed June 28, 2020 .
  9. ^ Joshua Rhett Miller: Legal eagles cry fowl over politicians' plans to block Chick-fil-A. Fox News, July 26, 2012, accessed June 28, 2020 .
  10. Conservatives and Liberals Defend Chick-Fil-A. NBC Chicago, July 26, 2012, accessed June 28, 2020 .
  11. Kevin Drum: Rahm Emanuel Needs to Back Off on Chick-fil-A. Mother Jones, July 26, 2012, accessed June 28, 2020 .
  12. Kim Bhasin: The Jim Henson Company Is Shunning Chick-Fil-A And Pulling Toys From Kids Meals. Business Insider, July 23, 2012, accessed June 28, 2020 .
  13. Amanda Holpuch: Chick-fil-A appreciation day brings huge crowds to fast-food chain. The Guardian, August 1, 2012, accessed June 28, 2020 .
  14. Chick-fil-A Statement. Chick-fil-A, July 31, 2012, accessed June 28, 2020 .
  15. FAA launches religious discrimination investigation into Chick-fil-A's exclusion at US airports. Atlanta Business Chronicle, May 29, 2019, accessed June 28, 2020 .
  16. Josh Israel: Chick-fil-A is still bankrolling anti-LGBTQ causes. Think Progress, June 6, 2017, accessed June 28, 2020 .
  17. Chick-fil-A Stops Giving to 2 Groups Criticized by LGBTQ Advocates. New York Times, November 20, 2019, accessed June 28, 2020 .
  18. Todd Starnes: Chick-Fil-A Finally Responds to Salvation Army-FCA Funding Flap, and It May Just Calm Some Tensions. CBN News, January 8, 2020, accessed June 28, 2020 .
  19. ^ The issues. Covenant House, accessed June 28, 2020 .