Atlanta Falcons fans looking to sample some of the tasty goodness that comes from the best chicken the fast-food industry can offer, will have to make sure to order double on Saturday. That’s because, like all Chick-fil-A restaurants, the one at Mercedes Benz Stadium will be closed on Sunday.
While this news won’t come as a shock to anyone familiar with Chick-fil-A’s long-standing scheduling practices, it does merit mention, considering that this means the Chick-fil-A at Mercedes Benz will only be open for one Falcons home game all year. The defending NFC champs play seven of their eight home games on Sunday, with only one game, a Thursday night game, coming on a day the restaurant will be open.
According to ESPN’s Darren Rovell, “A source said the digital signage in the Chick-fil-A stand will be flipped when the stand is closed and it will be used by stadium concessionaire Levy to sell other nonbranded food and beverage items.”
By missing those seven home games, with a captive crowd of well over 60,000 in attendance, Chick-fil-A is passing up on an enormous profit to observe the day that God, and restaurant founder S. Truett Cathy, ordered observed for faith and fellowship.
Then again, Cathy frequently said that being closed on Sunday’s, only helped boost the restaurant’s sales on Monday’s. While this might apply to restaurant’s out in the public, the location Chick-fil-A operates at Mercedes Benz, will only see those boosted sales if there’s some other event held at the stadium the next day.
Which underscores how strongly the company feels about observing Sunday for religious purposes.
Though, this is not to say Chick-fil-A won’t be available to all football fans. According to Rovell, “The stand will be open for the two college football games, dubbed the Chick-fil-A Kickoff games, during the season’s opening week. The game between Alabama and Florida State is on Saturday, Sept. 2, while the Georgia Tech-Tennessee game will take place two days later on a Monday. The stand will also be open for non-Sunday games played by the Falcons’ co-tenant, the Atlanta United of Major League Soccer, also owned by Falcons Owner Arthur Blank.”
Rovell also notes, “…trade publication QSR Magazine named Chick-fil-A the highest-grossing franchise in the United States, estimating that each store pulled in an average of $4.4 million in annual revenue, $1.7 million more than the average of the next-highest-grossing chain (Whataburger, $2.7 million).”
Imagine what those numbers would look like if Chick-fil-A was actually open on Sunday?