New York Has Serious Concerns With Chick-fil-A

[Towlie]

Why the nation's most popular chicken chain is not a great fit for New York's highway rest stops.

Rest areas along the New York State Thruway are currently undergoing a $450 million redesign. That project involves removing all McDonald’s restaurants and adding Chick-fil-A, among other chains, to several of the rest areas that punctuate the 500-mile highway system, which connects New York City and Buffalo by way of Albany. The McDonald’s closures were meant to provide “updated restaurant concepts” to these rest areas. However, it’s quickly becoming apparent that Chick-fil-A will present obstacles to highway drivers throughout the state.

Chick-fil-A, of course, is famously closed on Sundays, a nod to its founder’s religious beliefs. But Sunday isn’t just when many folks go to church—it’s a notoriously heavy traffic day, with a lot of travelers using Sundays to head back home from weekend trips. When it was announced that Chick-fil-A was being added to rest areas along the Thruway, it seems some New Yorkers erroneously assumed that the restaurants be open on Sundays, despite the chain’s longstanding policy. That would just make good sense at a rest stop, right?

[wrong]

more...