Mercedes-Benz Stadium visitors will miss out on their favourite chicken sandwiches on any given Sunday as the Chick-fil-A restaurant is not allowed to open on the traditional NFL game day.
None of the chains franchises are mandated to open on Sundays under instruction from founder Truett Cathy, who maintained the seventh day of the week was for rest and worship.
While Atlanta-headquartered Chick-fil-A may have been keen to be represented at the new $1.6bn (£1.2bn/€1.3bn) home of the Falcons, only one of the team’s eight home NFL games isn’t on a Sunday – a Thursday night fixture against the New Orleans Saints in December. The stand will be open for the two college football games, dubbed the Chick-fil-A Kickoff games, during the season’s opening week, as well as five Atlanta United MLS matches.
According to ESPN, the Chick-fil-A stand at the 70,000-capacity Mercedes-Benz Stadium will be used on Sundays by stadium concessionaire Levy to sell non-branded food and beverage items.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium is scheduled to open on August 26, with a Falcons preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals. The arena has revealed a fan-friendly concession pricing strategy, with hot dogs available for just $2.
Earlier this year, restaurant industry trade publication QSR Magazine named Chick-fil-A the highest-grossing franchise in the US. It estimated that each store pulled in an average of $4.4m in annual revenue.
On the Sunday closures, Chick-fil-A says: “Truett saw the importance of closing on Sundays so that he and his employees could set aside one day to rest and worship if they choose – a practice we uphold today.”
IMAGE: Chris Potter
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