Chick-fil-A will keep its doors closed on Sundays, CEO Andrew Cathy said in an interview with NBC's «Today,» ending any speculation that the fast-food chain might reconsider a policy in place since its founding in 1946.
Cathy told co-anchor Craig Melvin that the tradition dates to the company's early years, when founder S. Truett Cathy operated a 24-hour restaurant six days a week. «It was very common back in the 1940s that a lot of places were closed on Sunday,» Cathy said. «And so they wanted to do that. They wanted to have a chance to take a break … go to church, and for others just to take some rest.»
The CEO, who has led the company for five years, said he has never calculated how much revenue the chain forgoes by staying shut one day a week. «And that's being truthfully honest with you. I never have because it's never something that we're entertaining. It's just too important for us,» he said. He described the policy as a benefit of the company's private, family-owned structure, which allows it to prioritize something other than maximizing sales.
Employees appear to value the arrangement, Cathy added, because it guarantees them one day off every week. The Cathy family's Christian faith has long shaped the company's practices. «It's our anchor in the sense of what our corporate purpose states, that we're in business to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that's entrusted to us, and have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A,» he said.
The six-day schedule has not held back the business. Chick-fil-A posted an average annual sales volume of $9,161,239 per location in 2025, outperforming several major fast-food chains, including Wendy's and Burger King, that operate seven days a week. The company opened 179 franchised and company-operated outlets in 2025, according to QSR Magazine, bringing its total to 2,863 locations. It also receives roughly 150,000 franchise applications each year, Cathy told «Today.»
Some parts of the operation are changing. Chick-fil-A recently announced its first new sauce in a decade, Spicy Chick-fil-A Sauce, available starting Nov. 16 — though still not on Sundays. The chain has used the same recipe for its classic chicken sandwich since 1967, when the founder created it.
The interview underscores how the privately held chain treats its Sunday closure as a fixed part of its identity rather than a variable to be weighed against sales. For customers, the practical result is unchanged: the restaurants remain unavailable one day a week, a schedule the company frames as a rest day for employees and a reflection of its founding values.