50 Fun Facts About Chick-fil-A

Truett Cathy's first restaurant, the 1946 Dwarf Grill, took its name from what?

The tiny diner later became the Dwarf House, and the company still runs a handful of Dwarf House restaurants around metro Atlanta with fried okra and cornbread on the menu.

In which Atlanta suburb did Truett Cathy open his first restaurant in 1946?

The town sits beside Hartsfield-Jackson airport, and the original diner drew much of its trade from a car plant across the road.

The first restaurant under the chain's own name opened in an Atlanta mall food court in which year?

Until then the sandwich had been licensed out to other eateries; those deals were pulled once the company had a store of its own.

That first dedicated restaurant opened in 1967 in the food court of which Atlanta shopping mall?

The mall store outlived its founder, staying open for 56 years before quietly closing in May 2023.

What is the capital 'A' at the end of the company name meant to signify?

The 'fil' part is a play on how Americans say 'filet', so the whole name reads as a boast about a top-grade chicken fillet.

What did Truett Cathy find in 1961 that cooked a chicken fillet as fast as a hamburger?

He registered the Chick-fil-A name soon after; the flagship sandwich is still cooked that way today.

Between 1964 and 1967 the sandwich was licensed to over fifty other eateries, including which breakfast chain?

The concession stands of the brand-new Houston Astrodome also sold it before the company pulled all outside licences in 1967.

The chain's first freestanding restaurant, on North Druid Hills Road in Atlanta, opened in which year?

For its first two decades the company was almost entirely a mall food-court operation; drive-throughs now bring in up to 60 percent of sales.

The company is headquartered in which Georgia city?

The company itself calls the campus the Support Center and describes it as being in Atlanta.

On which day of the week is every restaurant in the chain closed?

Truett Cathy made the call in 1946 after years of working seven days a week in 24-hour diners.

Which advertising agency created the 'Eat Mor Chikin' slogan in 1995?

The Dallas agency kept the account for 22 years before the chain moved its advertising in 2016.

The cows first painted 'Eat Mor Chikin' on an Atlanta billboard in which year?

The first execution was a three-dimensional billboard of one cow standing on another's back to reach the sign.

What breed of dairy cow stars in the chain's advertising?

The black-and-white cows argue, on billboards and water towers, that people should eat chicken instead of them.

The cows replaced which earlier chicken mascot, still lurking in the logo as the letter C?

Look closely at the logo's C: the flourish on top is the old bird's comb.

Why was the cow campaign temporarily halted on January 1, 2004?

The company did not want its cows to look as if they were cashing in on a food-safety panic; the ads returned a few months later.

After 22 years with the agency that invented the cows, the chain moved its advertising in 2016 to which agency?

The cows survived the switch and remain the face of the brand three decades on.

The chain's flagship Original sandwich is cooked in 100 percent refined what?

The refining process removes the proteins that trigger most peanut allergies, which is why the company says the oil is safe for many allergy sufferers.

What garnish comes on the Original sandwich as standard?

Lettuce, tomato and cheese are add-ons for the deluxe version; the pickles are the only thing between the chicken and the buttered bun.

The founder's much-repeated claim to have invented which menu staple has been shown to be false?

It was, however, the first national chain to make a fast fried chicken sandwich its flagship item, which is where the trademarked slogan 'We Didn't Invent the Chicken' comes from.

The chain's waffle-cut potato fries are cooked in which oil?

Only the chicken gets the nut oil; the fries are finished with a sprinkle of sea salt.

The chain's waffle-cut potato fries were first rolled out in which year?

They arrived 18 years after the first restaurant and have overtaken the flagship sandwich as the most-ordered thing on the menu.

As of 2018, what was the single most-ordered item on the menu?

Soft drinks came second and nuggets third, pushing the sandwich that built the company down to fourth place.

When nuggets debuted in 1982, they were sold as a box of how many pieces?

They were born because customers kept asking Operators to cut the sandwich chicken into bite-sized pieces.

Which of these dipping sauces was among the original trio introduced in 1984?

Honey Mustard and Barbeque were the other two; the sweet-and-sour Polynesian is still the second-most-ordered sauce in the chain.

The chain's signature namesake dip, Chick-fil-A Sauce, joined the menu in which year?

Its smoky, tangy mustard flavour has been read as a mash-up of honey mustard and barbecue, and bottles reached supermarket shelves nationwide in 2021.

Wikipedia records that the signature namesake sauce was invented in 1983 at a restaurant in which state?

A sign at the Spotsylvania Towne Centre restaurant in Fredericksburg claims the honour, a long way from the chain's Georgia home.

Which dip did customers order more than any other in 2024?

The sweet-and-sour one came second, and Sweet & Spicy Sriracha finished last of the seven.

In February 2023 the chain launched its first meat-free sandwich, built around which vegetable?

The breaded, pressure-cooked floret was served on the same buttered bun with the same pickles as the original.

The chain has sponsored Atlanta's Peach Bowl college football game since which year?

The bowl dates to 1968 and became one of the College Football Playoff's New Year's Six games in 2014.

From 2006 to 2013 the Atlanta bowl game Chick-fil-A sponsors dropped 'Peach' and was officially called what?

The peach came back in 2014, the same year the game joined the College Football Playoff rotation.

The Peach Bowl was created in 1968 as a fundraiser for a project of which service organisation?

The beneficiary was the Georgia Lighthouse for the Blind Foundation, and the first three games were played on Georgia Tech's campus.

Since 2017 the Peach Bowl has been played at which Atlanta venue?

It spent 24 seasons in the Georgia Dome next door before the roof-that-opens-like-a-camera stadium took over.

Before moving to Atlanta in 2014, the College Football Hall of Fame was in which city?

The Atlanta building has a 45-yard indoor field and a wall of helmets from hundreds of college programs.

Which family member became the company's CEO in 2021?

He is the founder's grandson, making the chain a third-generation family business that has never been publicly traded.

When the founder retired in November 2013, which son took over as both chairman and CEO?

He stepped down as CEO in late 2021 but stayed on as chairman of the board.

Which best describes the company's ownership?

The founder refused to take it public for religious and personal reasons, and the company builds and owns its restaurants itself.

In 2025, what initial investment did the company ask of a would-be franchisee?

The catch is that the company keeps ownership of the restaurant, and selection and training can take months.

What was the chain's average sales per location in 2024, the highest among major US fast-food chains?

It managed that with about 3,100 US locations against the burger giant's 13,500, and while shut one day a week.

In 2019 the chain's US sales trailed only which other restaurant company?

The gap was still large, $11.3 billion against $40.4 billion, but it put a six-day-a-week chicken chain in second place.

How many US states have at least one of the chain's restaurants?

The District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are covered too, with Canada, the UK and Singapore abroad.

Which country hosted the chain's first restaurant outside North America, opened in Durban in 1996?

Neither of the two restaurants there turned a profit, and it took nearly two decades before the chain tried Europe.

In 2019 the chain returned to Europe with a restaurant at The Oracle shopping centre in which English town?

It lasted only until March 2020, when the mall's owners chose not to renew the lease.

In 2025 the company said up to what share of its sales came through the drive-through?

That dependence explains the double drive-through lanes and staff with tablets that have become the chain's signature.

Chick-fil-A's 'my pleasure' catchphrase was inspired by an employee of what kind of business?

Struck by the reply, he asked his own employees to adopt it, and it is still the expected answer to a customer's thank-you.

A corporate purpose reads 'To glorify God by being a faithful ___ of all that is entrusted to us.' Which word?

The founder was a devout Southern Baptist, and the statement has hung on the wall of the Support Center for decades.

Truett Cathy died at home in September 2014 at what age?

He had retired less than a year earlier, and Forbes had once ranked him the 380th-richest American with a $1.2 billion fortune.

Complete the title of one of the founder's books: 'It's Better to Build Boys Than ___'.

His other titles include 'Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People' and 'Wealth, Is It Worth It?'

At 92 the founder opened Truett's Luau in Fayetteville, Georgia, inspired by his visits to which state?

It sits alongside his other side ventures, the Dwarf House diners and Truett's Grill, the first of which opened in Morrow, Georgia in 1996.

In 2011 the company sent a cease-and-desist to a Vermont artist selling 'Eat More ___' shirts. Which word?

Screen printer Bo Muller-Moore fought the demand and became a minor folk hero in Vermont.

Which fried-chicken chain's 2019 fillet sandwich launch, rivalling Chick-fil-A, kicked off the 'sandwich wars'?

The rival's sandwich sold out nationwide within weeks and set off a copycat rush across the industry.