Despite (or perhaps because of) the conservative, Christian values of its owners — and of the efforts of LGBTQ activists to destroy it — Chick-fil-A just keeps on growing in popularity across America’s heartland. In fact, it just took its place as the nation’s favorite fast-food restaurant, according to a recent survey.
MarketForce, which gathers data on national dining trends, recently surveyed some 7,600 consumers on a number of fast-food chains, asking them to rank restaurants on their satisfaction with their most recent visit, along with the likelihood they would recommend the restaurant to others. The survey was divided into seven categories, for burgers, sandwiches, Mexican cuisine, pizza, chicken, coffee and bakeries, and frozen desserts and smoothies.
Overall, Chick-fil-A beat out last-year’s winner, In-N-Out, a burger restaurant (which still ranked first in that category), scoring an overall 79 percent among respondents on brand loyalty. Among other chains specializing in chicken, Chick-fil-A was tops in such categories as food quality, value, cleanliness, and staff friendliness.
Fox News noted that considering the chain is not open on Sundays, its popularity is “quite a feat. Founder S. Truett Cathy, a devout Baptist, opened the first Chick-fil-A in Atlanta in 1967, and the chain has since stayed in the family’s ownership. Today, there are more than 2,300 locations across the country, which all follow the original model.”
The fast-food chain has also thrived despite attempts by LGBTQ activists to undermine the fast-food chain’s growth over past comments of its CEO, Dan Cathy, about his views on marriage and sexuality. During a 2012 radio interview, Cathy, son of the Chick-fil-A founder, said that neither he nor the chain supported same-sex marriage. “I think we are inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, ‘We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage,’” Cathy said at the time. “We are very much supportive of … the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives.”
That statement prompted individuals and groups committed to the LGBTQ agenda to aggressively oppose the opening of Chick-fil-A restaurants in cities such as Denver, Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio. Nonetheless, the campaign has been fruitless, as earlier this year Chick-fil-A was named the third-largest restaurant chain in the United States. According to top business analyst Mark Kalinowski, Chick-fil-A’s 2018 sales have taken it from the No. 7 spot in 2017 to the cusp of No. 3, trailing only McDonald’s and Starbucks, and besting fast-food favorites Taco Bell, Subway, and Burger King.
In fact, a recent analysis by Goldman Sachs found that the average Chick-fil-A restaurant generates more than double the revenue of the average McDonald’s restaurant — despite the chicken chain’s closed-on-Sunday policy. “Our brand survey shows that Chick-fil-A has had the most brand momentum across [fast-food chains], supporting the most increase in total revenue (in dollar terms) in the US,” noted the Goldman Sachs analysis. The report added that a “2,000-consumer brand survey suggests [Chick-fil-A] will continue to take share and grow.”
Some would suggest that the company’s popularity and success may be tied in part to its Christian values. Chick-fil-A says that its official corporate purpose is “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 into contact with Chick-fil-A.”
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