Chick-fil-A

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Chick-fil-A (pronounced "Chick Filet" rather than "Chick Fillah") is a fast-food restaurant chain headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia that specializes in chicken entrees. The second-biggest chicken-based fast-food chain in the United States, Chick-fil-A is best-known for its chicken sandwiches, in both pressure-cooked and fried or grilled versions. It also offers chicken nuggets, chicken wraps, chicken strips, and salads as well as a breakfast menu featuring biscuits optionally filled with chicken, bacon, sausage, and eggs. The chain is associated with the southern United States, but it has in recent years been expanding into the southwest and the midwest. As of May 2005, the chain has over 1200 locations in 36 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

Contents

1 History
2 EAT MOR CHIKIN
3 Dwarf House
4 Truett's Grill
5 Religious Connections
6 External links
7 References

History

Freestanding Chick-fil-A restaurant

Chick-fil-A has historically been most closely identified with shopping malls: the majority of its locations are in malls. However, in recent years, most of its growth has been in freestanding units with sit-down and drive-through service and as of 2004 the chain has over 460 such units. It also has drive-through-only locations, and has placed its restaurants in universities, hospitals, and airports through licensing agreements.

The chain grew from the Dwarf Grill (later the Dwarf House, a name still used by the chain), a restaurant opened by S. Truett Cathy, who is still the company's chairman, in the Atlanta suburb of Hapeville in 1946. The first Chick-fil-A opened in an Atlanta mall in 1967.

Chick-fil-A achieved quite a bit of notability in June 2004, when it was publicly announced in a major ad campaign that a new store, opening in Waxahachie, Texas, on July 1, would offer, to the first 100 to enter its doors, coupons for a free combo meal every week for a year. Along with this promotion (which was widely featured on the Internet), the company threw a huge opening day carnival, complete with karaoke, free ice cream, klieg lights, and prize raffles. The "First 100" promotion is now held at the opening of every new Chick-fil-A restaurant, with people camping out for up to several days before the opening to guarantee their place in line.

Since 1997, the Atlanta-based company has been the title sponsor of the Peach Bowl, an annual college football bowl game played in Atlanta. Beginning in the 2006 season, the Peach Bowl will become the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

Also, it has given donations to local Christian, Evangelical, Methodist, and Baptist churches and communities.

EAT MOR CHIKIN

The radical Animal Liberation Front vandalized this Chick-fil-A billboard to support its vegan aims.

"EAT MOR CHIKIN" is the chain's most prominent advertising slogan, often seen in advertisements featuring sign-wearing bovines. According to Chick-fil-A's advertising strategies, the cows have united in an effort to reform American food, in an effort to reduce the amount of beef which is eaten. They wish the American public to refrain from eating beef burgers as are common at Chick-fil-A's competitors, such as McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's, and instead focus on eating chicken, or "chikin" as the cows spell it. The ad campaign was temporarily halted during a mad cow disease scare in late 2003/early 2004 so as not to make the chain seem insensitive or appear to be taking advantage of the scare to increase its sales. A few months later, the cows were put up again. The cows replaced the chain's old mascot, Doodles, an anthropomorphized chicken.

Sometimes these billboards incorporate a little bit of local color or local inside jokes. One such example showed up in Knoxville, Tennessee during 2003. The billboard was located along Interstate 40 in the West Hills neighborhood and featured an orange (instead of white) background with traffic cones and a cow wearing a safety vest. The text on the billboard read, "CHIKIN ZONE NEXT 3000 MILES," an obvious reference to the lengthy and expensive construction projects that have been the bane of Knoxville motorists since the early 1970s.

The company also produces annual coupon-bearing "cow calendars" every year, featuring bovines in various parodies that have included "The Cow Channel", "Cow Superheroes", "Secret Agent Cows", and "Cows in Shining Armor".

Dwarf House

The Chick-fil-A Dwarf Houses are a full-service variation of the typical Chick-fil-A restaurant. In addition to the full-service dining area, Dwarf Houses also have the a normal fast-food service area as well as a drive-through. The menu at a Dwarf House is similar to the normal menu. However, surprising to many loyal supporters, the menu at a Chick-fil-A Dwarf House contains an option to buy a Steakburger and/or Hamburger.

One notable difference at the Chick-fil-A Dwarf Houses is the novelty "Dwarf-sized" front door that children and some adults can use to enter if they so choose.

The original Dwarf House in Hapeville, Georgia is open 24 hours a day, and closes at 5:00 AM Sunday morning and re-opens at 5:00 AM on Monday.

Truett's Grill

In 1996, the first Truett's Grill was opened in Morrow, Georgia. While separately owned, the resturaunt serves a menu similar to the Dwarf House, with a larger breakfast selection. Their slogan is "Three Meals a Day from Chick-fil-A." Like the Dwarf House, they also have a novelty "Dwarf-sized" front door marked as for children and grand-parents to use. Ironically, the door is quite heavy and most children have a hard time opening it.

The second location opened in 2003 in McDonough, Georgia. Both locations have fast food and sit down service, but are more similar to a 1950s style diner.

The McDonough location has become well known for its community involvement, including outside movie nights, firework displays, and a Nugget drop on New Years Eve.

Religious Connections

Chick-fil-a founder Truett Cathy is a devout Southern Baptist who has taught Sunday School for over 44 years and whose religious beliefs permeate the company to this day. The company's official statement of corporate purpose says that the business exists "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 in contact with Chick-fil-A." The chain invests heavily in community services (especially for children and teenagers) and scholarships. Cathy's beliefs are also responsible for one of the chain's distinctive features: All Chick-fil-A locations (company-owned and franchised, whether in a mall or freestanding) are closed on Sundays.

Several of the religious organizations that Truett Cathy and Chick-Fil-A have lent support to include groups such as Focus on the Family. Groups researching financial support of religious groups have noted that Truett Cathy is one of the largest corporate sponsors of politically active religious groups in the US, largely through grants from the Truett Cathy Foundation but occasionally through direct sponsorship as well or through partnership with other foundations that are major corporate sponsors of politically active religious groups.^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}

Chick-Fil-A has promoted religious groups via toys and CDs included in children's meals, much as movie studios promote new movies via McDonald's Happy Meal toys. These have ranged from including toys from the Christian television series VeggieTales in children's meals to including CDs from the Christian radio program "Adventures in Odyssey" as children's meal incentives, which is produced by Family Radio. The latter show is produced by the radio division of Focus on the Family, and typically heard on Christian radio stations.

Chick-Fil-A and Focus on the Family also have a history of cross-promotion. Chick-Fil-A has also sponsored meetings by the group "All Pro Dad"; All Pro Dad is a group with affiliations with Focus on the Family via a group called "Family First"; "Family First" promotes a large number of conservative religious causes, including covenant marriage.

Chick-Fil-A has also directly sponsored other religious campaigns. One of the groups sponsored by Chick-Fil-A is Athletes In Action which is a sports missionary arm of the Campus Crusade for Christ.

Another link between Chick-Fil-A and religious groups includes promotion of "National Bible Week". Truett Cathy is the chair of the National Bible Week Committee.

Truett Cathy is also heavily involved in the Winshape Foundation, a non-profit organization which was started in 1984 with its goal to "shape winners" by offering summer camps, retreats, foster care, and other services.

External links

References

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