Chick-fil-A has its roots in a restaurant called the Dwarf Grill, opened by founder Truett Cathy in 1946.
The company still has 12 locations of the full-service concept, today dubbed The Dwarf House, in the metro Atlanta area. In addition to the typical Chick-fil-A menu, these locations serve items such as the ham-and-cheese “Midnight Sandwich" and coconut icebox pie. It also plus a miniature door for pint-sized customers, reports the Tampa Bay Times.
Cathy is credited for inventing the boneless chicken sandwich — today a fast-food classic.
Realizing traditional fried chicken preparation methods were too time-consuming for most fast-food chains, Cathy utilized a pressure cooker to create a speedily prepared boneless chicken sandwich in the early 1960s.
Cathy opened the first true Chick-fil-A at age 46, in suburban Atlanta.
In 1967, two years after finally perfecting his chicken recipe, Cathy was ready to open a restaurant based purely on the sandwich. The first location opened in Atlanta’s Greenbriar Mall, and was only 384 square feet.
The “A” in Chick-fil-A has a hidden meaning.
The restaurant chain’s name is a take on “chicken fillet,” with the capital “A” at the end symbolizing top quality, according the restaurant.
Every Chick-fil-A location has always been closed on Sundays.
Cathy established the tradition when he opened the Dwarf Grill back in 1946.
“He has often shared that his decision was as much practical as spiritual,” the company website says of the tradition. “He believes that all franchised Chick-fil-A Operators and their Restaurant employees should have an opportunity to rest, spend time with family and friends, and worship if they choose to do so.”
Chick-fil-A developed some unique employee traditions over the years — such as singing songs about how much they love the chain.
‘Sunbelt Rising: The Politics of Space, Place, and Region’ states that in the early 1980s, company policy encouraged employees to sing songs with lyrics such as those of “Movin’ On:”
Chick-fil-A we’re movin’ on,
Chick-fil-A we’re growin’ strong.
We’re one big happy family,
That’s the way at Chick-fil-A.
The Chick-fil-A-funded charity WinShape Foundation has an entire program dedicated to marriage — but not same-sex marriage.
WinShape Marriage offers Christian marriage counseling, secluded couples’ retreats, and even date ideas. In 2011, it was revealed that the WinShape Foundation did not allow same-sex couples to participate in marriage retreats, sparking outrage.
It only costs franchisees $10,000 to open a new location.
That’s cheaper than every major fast-food chain in the US — but, there’s a catch. Ongoing fees are much higher than other chains.
You have less than a 1% chance of being approved to become a Chick-fil-A franchisee.
It isn't easy to become a franchisee. Out of the more than 20,000 inquiries from franchisee candidates Chick-fil-A recieves annually, the company only selects between 75 to 80 new franchisees a year, Chick-fil-A spokeswoman Amanda Hannah told Business Insider.
In 2004, Chick-fil-A took a break from its “Eat mor chikin” campaign due to the Mad Cow Disease scare.
In 1995, Chick-fil-A launched the ad campaign featuring cows asking people to eat more chicken — and less burgers. When Mad Cow Disease hit the US in 2004, the campaign was halted, in an effort to not appear insensitive or cruel.
Chick-fil-A lost a lawsuit trying to prevent someone from making t-shirts with the phrase “Eat More Kale.”
Bo Muller-Moore won the right to make “Eat More Kale” t-shirts and other accessories in 2014, after a three-year legal battle with the chain. Ironically, Chick-fil-A now serves a kale-broccolini salad of its own.
Chick-fil-A additionally owns a Hawaiian-themed restaurant.
Truett’s Luau opened in 2013, when Cathy was 92 years old. The restaurant, located in Fayetteville, Georgia, serves items such as Mahi-mahi, calamari, and chocolate and coconut Haupia Pie.
The chain is rolling out table service.
The new service is intended to both benefit customers and clear out the area in front of the counter where customers would cluster to pick up their food, Chick-fil-A’s vice president of menu strategy and development, David Farmer, told Business Insider.
Franchisees are now coming out in support of gay rights.
One Chick-fil-A franchisee announced plans to support an LGBT film festival in October, while another donated 200 sandwiches to an Iowa gay-pride picnic in June.
Per Cathy’s wishes, Chick-fil-A can never go public.
Before Cathy died in 2014 at age 93, he set up a contract with his children stating that, while they could sell Chick-fil-A, the company must never go public.