Chick-fil-A Benefited from Gay Marriage Debate
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Alex Wong/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Despite boycotts from pro-gay marriage groups, fast food restaurant Chick-fil-A may have benefited from remarks by president and chief operating officer Dan Cathy that he supported the “biblical definition of the family unit.”
The number of people who said they visited Chick-fil-A in the “past month” increased 2.2 percent, according to a third quarter study by chain restaurant market research firm Sandelman & Associates’ Quick-Track study. The research firm conducts research for all major fast-food chains in U.S. media markets.
A spokesman for Chick-Fil-A declined to comment.
In an article published on July 16 by the Baptist Press, a news service for the Southern Baptist Convention, Cathy said, “We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.”
In response to Cathy’s comments, the company was sharply criticized by the gay community. Civic leaders in Chicago and Boston also criticized the company, saying they would not welcome Chick-fil-A to their cities. In September, Chicago alderman Proco “Joe” Moreno later said he would not block the chain from a neighborhood called Logan Square.
Chick-fil-A’s supporters then responded by organizing an unofficial Chick-fil-A “Appreciation Day” on Aug. 1, during which the company said it had “record-setting” sales.
The company repeated that it does not discriminate against gay employees or customers.
The company has also stated that its intent “is not to support political or social agendas.”
The company founder and CEO, Truett Cathy, is a Christian who has kept the business closed on Sundays since opening his first restaurant in 1946. Based in Atlanta, the company’s more than 1,600 Chick-fil-A restaurants continue that practice in 39 states and Washington, D.C.
Its 2011 sales were $4.1 billion, a 13.08 percent increase over 2010’s figures, and same-stores sales increased 7 percent, according to Chick-fil-A.
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