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The story behind America's #3 fast-food chain — founded in 1946 in Hapeville, GA, and famously closed every Sunday.
3,000+
Restaurants
47
U.S. states
200K+
Team members
#3
U.S. fast-food chain (sales)
1967
Founded as Chick-fil-A
6
Days open per week
Chick-fil-A's story begins in 1946, when 25-year-old S. Truett Cathy opened a 24-hour diner called The Dwarf Grillin Hapeville, Georgia — a small town just outside Atlanta. From day one, Truett made the decision to close on Sunday so he and his team could rest. That single rule has held for nearly 80 years and is now one of the brand's defining traits.
In the early 1960s, Truett spent years experimenting with a way to serve a great chicken sandwich quickly. He landed on a pressure-cooked, hand-breaded boneless chicken breast served on a buttered, toasted bun with exactly two pickles. He licensed the recipe to other diners under the name Chick-fil-A— a play on "Grade A" chicken filet — before opening the first restaurant under that name in 1967, inside Atlanta's Greenbriar Mall.
The mall food-court format dominated for nearly two decades. In 1986, Chick-fil-A opened its first free-standing restaurant with a drive-thru — the format that now defines the brand. The chain grew steadily, gained national fame in the 1990s with the Eat Mor Chikin cow campaign, and crossed $4 billion in sales by 2012. By 2019 it had passed Burger King and Wendy's to become the #3 fast-food chain in America by sales — a remarkable feat for a brand that closes every Sunday.
The cow campaign is the second-longest-running ad campaign in U.S. history, debuting in 1995 and still going strong.
Chick-fil-A awards over $24 million annually in scholarships to its team members through the Remarkable Futures program.
The signature response to a thank-you. Drilled into every team member during training and a hallmark of the brand's hospitality.
1946
S. Truett Cathy opens a 24-hour diner in Hapeville, GA — the seed of what becomes Chick-fil-A. The decision to close on Sunday is made on day one.
1961
After years of experimenting, Truett perfects a pressure-cooked, hand-breaded boneless chicken breast served on a buttered bun with two pickles.
1967
The first restaurant under the Chick-fil-A name opens in Atlanta's Greenbriar Mall — a food-court counter, not a free-standing store.
1986
Chick-fil-A opens its first free-standing store with a drive-thru. The format eventually becomes the dominant restaurant type.
1995
The cow billboard campaign launches in Atlanta and becomes one of the most recognizable ad campaigns in fast-food history.
2012
Chick-fil-A becomes the highest-grossing chicken chain in the U.S. — surpassing KFC despite being closed every Sunday.
2019
Chick-fil-A passes Burger King and Wendy's to become the third-largest U.S. fast-food chain by sales, behind only McDonald's and Starbucks.
2024
Chick-fil-A continues its slow, deliberate expansion into Canada, the UK, and other international markets.
A pressure-cooked, hand-breaded chicken breast on a buttered, toasted bun with exactly two pickles. The recipe hasn't materially changed since 1961.
Cut into a unique waffle shape, cooked in canola oil in a dedicated fryer (great for celiac diners).
Chick-fil-A Sauce, Polynesian, Honey Mustard, Garden Herb Ranch, BBQ — all complimentary, all bottled and sold at retail.
Made with Icedream, hand-spun in store, topped with whipped cream and a cherry on request.
Every U.S. store. A 75-year tradition rooted in the founder's belief that team members deserve a guaranteed day of rest.
Modeled on Ritz-Carlton hospitality. Chick-fil-A consistently tops fast-food customer-satisfaction surveys (ACSI) year after year.
Chick-fil-A is privately owned by the Cathy family and headquartered in College Park, Georgia. Despite operating only six days a week, the chain consistently earns more revenue per restaurant than any other U.S. fast-food brand — a metric driven by its drive-thru efficiency, signature sandwich, and famously consistent customer service. The Chick-fil-A One rewards program, the "Eat Mor Chikin" campaign, and the brand's scholarship investments are recurring fixtures in modern fast-food marketing case studies.