A new bill introduced by lawmakers could end the iconic closed-on-Sunday business approach for Chick-fil-A, leaving just chicken and superior customer service as its pillars.
The bill would affect Chick-fil-A locations located along Interstate 90 in New York, also known as the New York State Thruway.
Introduced by a New York lawmaker, the legislation would require companies on the highway that provide food at transportation facilities to remain open seven days a week.
Chick-fil-A is specifically named in the language of the bill.
“While there is nothing objectionable about a fast food restaurant closing on a particular day of the week, service areas dedicated to travelers is an inappropriate location for such a restaurant. Publicly owned service areas should use their space to maximally benefit the public. Allowing for retail space to go unused one-seventh of the week or more is a disservice and unnecessary inconvenience to travelers who rely on these service areas,” the bill says.
The bill was sponsored by Assemblyman Tony Simone, who told News10 that the locations are inconvenient to everyday travelers.
“You know, we get hungry when we’re traveling. We may not like our brother-in-law or sister-in-law’s cooking and wanna get a snack on Christmas Eve,” Simone said. “To find one of the restaurants closed on the thruway is just not in the public good.”
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The language in the bill also targets future contracts for food concessions at facilities owned by the New York State Thruway Authority.
WSBTV spoke with the New York State Thruway and found that the 27 service areas were part of a 33-year contract Chick-fil-A signed with the Thruway for $450 million.
So far, there have been seven Chick-fil-A locations opened at Thruway service areas, according to ABC News.
Simone says that “the Thruways are meant to serve New York travelers first” and that it is “ridiculous” for a restaurant to “close on Sunday – one of the busiest travel days of the week,” News10 reported.
The restaurant has always been closed on Sundays since 1946, when Truett Cathy opened his first location in Hapeville, Georgia, the Chick-fil-A restaurant says on its website.
“Having worked seven days a week in restaurants open 24 hours, Truett saw the importance of closing on Sundays so that he and his employees could set aside one day to rest or worship if they choose, a practice we uphold today,” Chick-fil-A’s website says.
Chick-fil-A has not commented on what it would do if the legislation is passed.
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