Chick-fil-A

Chick-fil-A is a fast-food restaurant chain, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia that specializes in chicken entrees. The second-largest chicken-based fast-food chain in the United States, Chik-fil-A is best-known for its chicken sandwiches, in both fried and 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. As of May, 2005, the chain has over 1200 locations, mostly franchised, in 36 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

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 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.

Cathy is a devout Christian, and his religious beliefs permeate the company to this day. The company's official mission statement says that the business exists to glorify God and positively influence all who come in contact with the company. The chain invests heavily in community services, especially for children and teenagers, and scholarships. Cathy's beliefs are also responsible for the chain's most distinctive feature. All Chick-fil-A locations, regardless of their type, are closed on Sundays.

"Our decision to close on Sunday was our way of honoring God and directing our attention to things more important than our business. If it took seven days to make a living with a restaurant, then we needed to be in some other line of work. Through the years, I have never wavered from that position."—S. Truett Cathy

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.

Since 1997, the company has been the title sponsor of the Peach Bowl, an annual college football bowl game played in Atlanta.

EAT MOR CHIKIN

'"EAT MOR CHIKIN"' is the chain's most prominent advertising slogan, often seen in advertisements featuring sign-wearing bovine. According to Chick-fil-A's advertising strategies, the cows have united in an effort to reform American fast 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" have spelled it. Supposedly cows have a more phonetic way of spelling. 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.

External links

• Official Chick-fil-A Site (http://www.chickfila.com)
• EatMorChikin.com (http://www.eatmorchikin.com)