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In the early 2000s, Chick-fil-A brought in fine-dining guru Danny Meyer and Ritz-Carlton executive Horst Schulze to crack the hospitality code. "Dan's the one that came up with the idea to build on the principle going the second mile from Matthew 5:41," Robinson said, citing the Bible verse that instructs "Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two." But it was Dan Cathy who took these lofty ideas and created concrete practices. Robinson said Cathy's understanding of the Bible and "insight of the Holy Spirit" led to Chick-fil-A being built with a central mission to serve as a fundamentally welcoming place, with friendly employees and spotless locations. Operators split sales evenly with Chick-fil-A, after subtracting an annual licensing fee and expenses associated with running the restaurant. Their locations become operators' lives, with each operator typically allowed to run one store only. The process favors people who deeply believe that a restaurant serving fried chicken can be a positive force in a community. Read more: Opening a Chick-fil-A franchise costs just $10,000. Last year, the company received roughly 68,000 inquiries from franchisee candidates and accepted around 100 new operators. The company has a 0.15% acceptance rate, believed to be the lowest in the industry, making it 37 times as selective as Harvard University. Truett Cathy used to meet with every operator individually before they were hired, telling them to consider that the partnership "like a marriage, with no consideration given to divorce," as he wrote in his book. By comparison, McDonald's requires franchisees to pay between $1 million and $2.2 million in startup costs, including a $45,000 franchise fee.Ĭhick-fil-A's process may not be pricey, but it is selective. The company doesn't require candidates to meet a certain wealth threshold, and Chick-fil-A covers all startup costs, including real estate, restaurant construction, and equipment. Operators pay just $10,000 - up from $5,000 in the '60s - to open a restaurant. Williams was the first to follow in Cathy's footsteps through the operator system, which remains essentially unchanged five decades later.
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Chick-fil-A's first operator was Doris Williams, a former school-lunchroom worker who opened up shop in Atlanta's Greenbriar Mall in 1967. Springs is one of the roughly 1,800 operators trained to follow in Cathy's footsteps. Read more: What it costs to open 12 of the biggest fast-food chains in the US Now, I'm able to do even greater works than Truett in that way." "When Truett started this, there was no thought of going into a very heavily urban environment. To sum it up, “A” is for all the little things we do each day to bring you our best."And then I remember the fact that this was the first Chick-fil-A of its kind in this community," Springs went on. So that “A” is for “Grade-A” top quality. We’ve spent the past five decades continually refining our restaurant experience to give Guests our best every day. Operators and Team Members pay special attention to detail when it comes to preparing, packaging and serving every meal, inside and outside of the restaurants. We’re continually adding wholesome options and using cleaner, responsibly sourced ingredients to create a menu that is increasingly nutritious and sustainable, while never sacrificing delicious taste.īeyond our food, our top-quality approach extends to the way we care for Team Members and communities, how we treat our Guests, and our cleanliness and safety standards.
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Team Members chop and prepare our salads fresh daily, and our signature biscuits are baked fresh throughout the morning. Produce is delivered fresh to our restaurant kitchens up to six times a week. So today, the meaning of the “A” has evolved from the quality of our Original Chicken Sandwich and encompasses “All” the little things we do, starting with fresh, quality ingredients. From the big things, like rigorous safety standards, to all the little things, like the “my pleasures,” we want customers to know – no matter which restaurant they visit – they will receive the high-quality food, service and hospitality that they’ve come to expect from Chick-fil-A. He replaced “et” with “A” to represent the “Grade-A” quality of our chicken.Īnd while some aspects of our restaurants have changed over the years, that commitment to “Grade-A” top quality has never wavered. That’s why he chose Chick-fil-A: “Chick” to represent our signature menu item, and “fil-A” as a play on the word “filet,” with a small twist. When we first opened our doors in 1967, our founder Truett Cathy wanted the company’s name to reflect the top quality customers should expect each time they visited a restaurant. Ever wonder what the “A” in Chick-fil-A ® means? It’s representative of our top-quality chicken, and it informs all the little things we do, from using fresh ingredients to serving Guests with a smile.