New York City’s first official Chick-fil-A opens Sat., Oct. 3.
The following day, the restaurant will be closed, as are all Chick-fil-A franchise around the country on Sundays.
“We provide a day off for the restaurant team members,” Said Ryan Holmes, an Urban Strategy Consultant for Chick-fil-A. “There are no plans to change that.”
While some know Chick-fil-A as the inventor of the chicken sandwich, others associate the brand with staunchly conservative politics, known for donating large sums of money to anti-LGBT organizations.
“I was boycotting it for years because of the way they treated their gay employees and the funding they gave to anti-gay groups,” said Tyler Burrow, who works as a publicist in Manhattan.
“When the news also came out they they had a non-discrimination policy, I was happy. There still may be hatred in the company but sometimes you need to move on and let people progress at their own rate.” Comparing the situation to befriending a former bully, Burrows said he would eat at the new Chick-fil-A soon.
“We’re a business, not a political organization, we’re here to serve everyone and looking forward to serving all types of people,” said Holmes.
The “business” however, will lose a seventh of its potential revenue each week by closing every Sunday.
Holmes noted that the restaurant’s proximity to Herald Square, Times Square and Bryant Park makes it a good tourist stop.
