Posted on 12/28/2013 12:09:31 PM PST by rhema
Last summer, gay activists tried to destroy the national chicken chain. They wound up helping instead.
Victory tastes like chicken. Despite a year filled with protests and a smorgasbord of media scrutiny, recent evidence shows Chick-fil-A didn’t just survive becoming the target of a boycott led by gay activists last summer. It’s flourishing.
The popular fast-food chicken restaurant found itself in the crosshairs of media attention and activist protests after CEO Dan Cathy said in interviews with Christian media that he supports “the biblical definition of the family unit.”
Liberal groups had protested Chick-fil-A’s charitable contributions before, especially unhappy that the firm’s WinShape Foundation had donated money to groups like the Marriage & Family Foundation and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. After Cathy’s comments ricocheted around the Internet, pro-gay organizations targeted the company. That, in turn, spurred hundreds of thousands to support a “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day” led by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on Aug. 1.
The results speak for themselves: The restaurant chain grew both in profits and locations last year. While the 500 largest U.S. restaurant chains showed sales growth of 4.9 percent, Chick-fil- A nearly tripled that result with 14.1 percent, according to Tech- nomic Inc., a Chicago-based consulting and research firm serving the food industry.
“The fast food giant, the nation’s second-largest chicken chain, ended 2012 with $4.6 billion in sales,” reported the Atlanta Journal- Constitution. “The company also opened 96 new stores, four more than the year before.”
And its reputation actually improved—a lot. It made the annual Harris Poll Reputation Quotation for the first time in February, landing at 33 on the list of the top 60 “Most Visible Companies,” just three slots behind ever-popular Mc- Donald’s and two ahead of Burger King. The numbers caught the media off guard. USA Today headlined one piece:
(Excerpt) Read more at media.focusonthefamily.com ...
Since that day (I hadn’t paid much attention to them before - maybe ate there twice in my life) I am hooked. The breakfast burrito and that salad with the chicken and fruit are fantastic. Fortunately there is one down the street from my office so I am a regular customer now! Thanks stupid gay people!
So! Hire Jewish people to work on Sunday!
The Sabbath day is Saturday, not Sunday.
“The Sabbath day is Saturday, not Sunday.
Neither day is even mentioned in the Bible...so no.
“I had not eaten at Chick-fil-A before that - “
Same with this damyankee. Until I saw one roadside outside Greenville SC - I couldn’t pass it by. Good thing too, the food was great, the atmosphere was pure family, and we sat near the play area so we heard the happy children through our meal — wonderful music.
They, too, stand on their principles. Is that a hard concept for you?
It would make sense if the “tolerant” haters and other queers would shut up to keep from losing ground with their agenda, so you can bet they won’t shut up.
The libs are crying "FOWL".
...ok..THAT is funny!!! :)
Lots of people came to support. After they tasted the product, they kept coming back. I wonder if Huckabee owns any of the company. If not, Cathy should give him a consulting fee.
I keep hoping someone opens a CFA franchise in our town. They’re my favorite. If you haven’t had the chicken wrap with avocado-lime dressing, you must. It’s delish!
Until this kerfluffle started up last year, I hadn’t even thought of Chik-Fil-A since I last ate at one in Alabama in 1979 while working there. This caused me to look and I discovered one only 150 miles away, and I eat there whenever I go to the town now.
Me too. I rarely eat fast food. I dont think I had ever had CFL before the blowup. Ive had it several times since, probably two thirds of my fast food in the last year.
Start your own damned business.
That is good news, considering they are closed every Sunday. Take that you libs.
Why are article like this that are 100% misleading still be posted. Chik fil-A had stopped giving money to “anti-gay marriage groups” a year or two before that whole fiasco happened. In the last year, gay activists made it clear they have no bone to pick with Chik Fil-A. Why will so many conservatives support a business like it was tithing, especially based on a bunch of meaningless hype.
So the basic marketing lesson here is, come out in favour of traditional marriage, express your agreement with The Bible that homosexuality is a sin, and watch your business take off.
I think that’s great! That is an accurate poll of America.
I’m old enough to remember every Sunday being a sort of holiday, a real Sabbath, here in the South. All retail “hard line” businesses were closed, most restaurants and grocery stores had abbreviated hours, and, other than during standard church hours, the streets were very quiet.
One holiday a week was VERY nice. And we thrived because of it.
And Chick-Fil-A is obviously just fine with that. A few years ago a local franchise operator opened on Super Bowl Sunday in a location right next to the Super Bowl venue. Undoubtedly he had huge sales. On Monday he was out of a job. Chick-Fil-A has principles, and sticks to them, and the almighty dollar be damned. Good for them.
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