Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew Cathy says the chain now prioritizes welcoming all customers through food and service after reflecting on a turbulent chapter in the company’s history involving public opposition to same-sex marriage. Cathy, who followed in his father and grandfather's footsteps and became CEO in 2021, told NBC's "Today" his family tradition as Southern Baptists was a key factor in the decision to close Chick-fil-A on Sundays.
“My grandfather, my great-uncle, Ben, when they started that little restaurant back in Atlanta, it was very common back in the 1940s that a lot of places were closed on Sunday,” said Cathy. “They had to do that.
They wanted to have a chance to take a break, go to church, and for others just to take some rest.” The decision to stay closed on Sunday has endured, said Cathy, because it’s central to Chick-fil-A’s corporate DNA. “It was a company that was built on God, if you will, and that still seems to be very much a part of the DNA of Chick-fil-A,” he added.
“It is our anchor, in the sense of what our corporate purpose states, that we're in business to be a glorifier of God.” The corporate purpose of Chick-fil-A came under intense scrutiny in 2012 when Cathy’s father, then-CEO Dan Cathy, publicly stated the company’s opposition to gay marriage. Public documents later revealed that Chick-fil-A had donated millions of dollars to conservative Christian organizations whose biblical values ran contrary to the LGBT movement.
At the time, Dan Cathy’s remarks triggered widespread protests, boycotts, and political pushback from both supporters and critics. While he never altered his personal position on gay marriage, Dan Cathy later expressed regret for drawing the company into the public debate.