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New York lawmakers accused of bullying Chick-fil-A to open on Sundays with new law

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Fans of Chick-fil-A restaurants know that the popular chicken eatery is not open on Sundays, a fact ingrained in the company policy since its opening in 1946.

But a new bill filed by a Democrat in the New York State Assembly is looking to change that, with a measure requiring food vendors at highway rest stops to be open every day, directly impacting Chick-fil-A’s policy.

Food vendors with locations at rest stops owned by the New York State Thruway Authority would be required to remain open, and the popular chicken chain currently operates seven locations out of the Thruway’s 27 rest stops.

“The New York State Thruway Authority’s Service Area Redesign and Redevelopment Project is currently rebuilding the 27 service areas along the Thruway through a public-private partnership. The travelling public and commercial trucking industry rely on these service areas to rest, refuel and to purchase food and beverages,” the bill, sponsored by Democrat Assemblyman Tony Simone, reads.

“While there is nothing objectionable about a fast-food restaurant closing on a particular day of the week, service areas dedicated to travelers is an inappropriate location for such a restaurant,” the bill’ reads. “Publicly owned service areas should use their space to maximally benefit the public. Allowing for retail space to go unused one seventh of the week or more is a disservice and unnecessary inconvenience to travelers who rely on these service areas.”

“This legislation will ensure that all future contracts for food concessions at transportation facilities owned by the Thruway Authority, as well as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, will be required to operate seven days a week, with an exclusion to temporary concessions such as farmers markets or local vendors.,” it concludes.

The Democrat who sponsored the bill cited “the public good” in justifying the need to force Chick-fil-A to alter its long-standing policy.

“You know, we get hungry when we’re traveling. We may not like our brother-in-law or sister-in-law’s cooking and wanna get a snack on Christmas Eve,” Simone told Nexstar’s WTEN. “To find one of the restaurants closed on the Thruway is just not in the public good.”

“Well, the Thruways are meant to serve New York travelers first,” Simone said. “And I think it’s ridiculous that you’re able to close on Sunday — one of the busiest travel days of the week.”

According to the language of the bill, the new measure would only affect “future” vendors and WTEN noted that a Thruway official said Chick-fil-A already had a 33-year contract signed with the highway system.

According to the company website, “Our founder S. Truett Cathy made the decision to close on Sundays in 1946 when he opened his first restaurant in Hapeville, Georgia. Having worked seven days a week in restaurants open 24 hours, Truett saw the importance of closing on Sundays so that he and his employees could set aside one day to rest or worship if they choose, a practice we uphold today.”

The proposal was torched on social media where fiery reactions poured in.

1 Comment

  1. JJ on December 21, 2023 at 12:50 pm

    There goes the New York bullies again – forcing people and companies to go against their personal religious beliefs!! I have no problem with businesses being closed on Sunday!! That’s a personal choice!! It used to be that most stores and restaurants were closed on Sunday but that was a day when our religion was seemingly more important than it is today!!! I, for one, don’t appreciate any city, state, or federal government telling me how to run my business, when I can be open or closed!! It’s bad enough the amount of regulations and taxes that are placed on businesses as it is!! Stop being bullies!!!

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