Why Does Chick-fil-A Close on Sunday? Religious Roots Explained

Why does Chick-fil-A close on Sunday? The corporate says it’s to provide its staff relaxation, but the chain’s founder gave a much more religious reason.

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And since these days, May 1, is a Sunday, many more lovers are taking their hunger to Twitter.

“Chick-fil-A being closed on Sundays could be very evil,” one person tweeted nowadays.

“I forgot that Chick-fil-A was closed on Sundays, and now it’s everybody’s downside,” wrote another.

“Every time I crave Chick-fil-A is on a Sunday,” bemoaned a 3rd Twitter consumer.

So why is Chick-fil-A closed on Sunday, anyway?

Chick-fil-A says it's closed on Sundays to let workers relaxation — “and worship in the event that they choose.”

Chick-fil-A’s professional Twitter account offered an explanation ultimate month: “Our restaurants are closed on Sunday to give our crew individuals the chance to leisure and enjoy time with their families and buddies sooner than beginning the week once more on Monday.”

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On its website, in the meantime, the company offered a relatively other explanation:

“Our founder, Truett Cathy, made the decision to close on Sundays in 1946 when he opened his first eating place in Hapeville, Georgia. Having worked seven days a week in eating places open 24 hours, Truett saw the importance of last on Sundays so that he and his staff could set aside one day to relaxation and worship if they make a choice — a tradition we uphold today.”

The chain’s founder wrote that last on Sundays “is our method of honoring God.”

Those corporate responses only hint on the religious explanation why Chick-fil-A began the custom of ultimate on Sunday, a rationale that Truett made clear in his book Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People. “Closing our business on Sunday, the Lord's Day, is our manner of honoring God and appearing our loyalty to Him," the late businessman wrote in the 2002 book, per Business Insider.

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He went on: “My brother Ben and I closed our first restaurant on the first Sunday after we opened in 1946, and my children have committed to closing our restaurants on Sundays long after I’m gone. I believe God honors our decision and sets before us unexpected opportunities to do greater work for Him because of our loyalty.”

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The Cathy family’s religious views have landed Chick-fil-A in boycott-level controversy, especially after CEO Dan Cathy, one of Truett’s sons, said in a 2012 radio interview that supporting same-sex marriagewould invite God’s judgment on our nation,” as The Washington Post reported at the time. The company has also sparked ire by donating to anti-LGBTQ groups, per USA Today.

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Chick-fil-A is missing out on an estimated $1.2 billion in sales by being closed on Sundays.

In 2019, 24/7 Wall Street reported that Chick-fil-A had more than $10 billion in revenue the year before, with those profits coming from 2,400 locations in 47 states and Washington, D.C. With that figure in mind, 24/7 Wall Street estimated that the chain could pull in another $1.2 billion yearly if they opened on Sundays.

That same year, Kanye West name-dropped Chick-fil-A in a song tellingly titled “Closed on Sunday.”

“Closed on Sunday, you might be my Chick-fil-A / Closed on Sunday, you my Chick-fil-A,” Kanye raps on the monitor. “Hold the selfies, put the'Gramaway / Get your family,y'all hang palms and pray.”

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