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Chick-fil-A Leads ‘Favorite Restaurant’ for 10th Straight Year, Despite Closing Sundays
- Michael Foust Crosswalk Headlines Contributor
- Published Jun 26, 2024
For the 10th straight year, America’s favorite fast-food restaurant is a Sunday-closed eatery whose mission is to “glorify God” in all it does. Chick-fil-A topped this year’s American Consumer Satisfaction Index restaurant report among fast-food chains with a score of 83, edging KFC (81) and four brands that tied for No. 3 with a score of 80: Culver’s, Panera, Arby’s, and Starbucks. McDonald’s finished last with a score of 71.
“Among major chains, Chick-fil-A leads for the tenth consecutive year,” the report said.
“This long-term success is reflected in revenue, as the chain’s non-mall locations had an average revenue of $9.4 million in 2023 (more than double that of McDonald’s while being open one day less per week),” the report said. “Total U.S. sales growth for Chick-fil-A was nearly 15% last year.”
Chick-fil-A led for the 10th straight year despite dropping two points from last year’s score of 85.
Its founder, the late Truett Cathy, was a devout Christian who closed his first restaurant on Sundays in 1946. His grandson, Andrew Truett Cathy, is the current CEO.
“[Truett Cathy] knew what it was like to work seven days a week in restaurants, so he saw the importance of letting his employees set aside one day to rest and worship if they choose,” the chain’s website says. “That’s a practice we still uphold today.”
Its corporate purpose is to “glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A,” according to its website.
LongHorn Steakhouse and Texas Roadhouse tied for No. 1 among full-service restaurants (85), followed by Olive Garden (83), Cracker Barrel (82), and two restaurants that tied: Chili’s and Outback Steakhouse (80).
The report found that inflation is making dining out increasingly challenging for Americans.
“Both full-service and fast food restaurant customers are skewing a bit more toward higher income levels and college graduates,” said Forrest Morgeson, associate professor of marketing at Michigan State University and director of research emeritus at the ACSI. “Customers are being forced to make decisions between groceries and restaurants, with full-service restaurant inflation about two times that of groceries in the past year and fast food and fast casual restaurants prices up three times the rate of groceries. With customers seemingly viewing dining out as a luxury, restaurants that can differentiate themselves in terms of quality and value will have a competitive advantage.”
Photo Credit: © GettyImages/Justin Sullivan/Staff
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
