Chick-Fil-A's Sunday Closures Aren't Actually A Religious Thing

No one ever wants Chick-fil-A more than a hungry person on a Sunday. Think about it, what could be better than an order of chicken minis and tots after a Saturday night out? Not to mention how comforting a classic chicken sandwich would be after battling the Sunday scaries. Unfortunately, these are merely shared fantasies and unrealized pipe dreams among Chick-fil-A's millions of customers.

In 1982, the franchise's worst economic year, founder Truett Cathy, his sons Dan and Bubba, and Chick-fil-A's first chief marketing executive Steve Robinson embarked on a business retreat to deliberate business strategies to increase sales. One of their first orders of business was solidifying the company purpose statement: "To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A," (per Insider).

The franchise has long been associated with the Christian faith and Dan Cathy's controversial donations to the anti-LGBTQ organization, the National Christian Charitable Foundation, seemed to solidify the speculation (per Esquire). Because of this, most Chick-fil-A customers assume their Sunday closures are a reflection of faith. Despite its religious origins, however, the restaurant's decision to operate Monday through Saturday has less to do with the bible and more to do with rest.

Although much of Chick-fil-A's core values are informed by religious teachings the bible commands that Christian disciples rest on Sundays, Dan Cathy, Chick-Fil-A's president, tells Insider that the restaurant's Sunday closures are a reflection of practicality. In an interview with ABC News, the current company leader reminisces on his father's early years as Chick-fil-A's founder. According to the younger Cathy, his father had been working around the clock during the restaurant's opening week in 1946, but by the time Sunday arrived, Truett Cathy was exhausted and called for a much-needed closure to promote rest.

Dan Cathy adds that his father refused to ask his employees to participate in something that he himself would refuse — working on a Sunday. By doing this, he says that Chick-fil-A employees benefit from extra rest and time spent with family, and friends, or catching up on other obligations. Speaking on the well-being of Chick-fil-A's employees, Cathy tells ABC "if we care enough about them behind the counter, over the long haul, the ambience of that spills over this counter, and customers can kind of sense this." He also adds that Chick-fil-A employees are not required to follow the Christian faith and people from all walks of life are encouraged to apply as long as they are passionate people of honest integrity.

Although it's easy to chastise Chick-fil-A for their Sunday closures, take solace in knowing that the company's hard-working employees are enjoying some much-needed downtime.