7 Weird Facts You Didn’t Know About Chick-fil-A
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When it comes to fast food, people are adamantly loyal to their favorites. And research shows that Chick-fil-A is the most popular fast food chain in 40 out of 50 states, ahead of both McDonald’s and In-N-Out Burger. It could be the real deal chicken nuggets, the milkshakes or the legendary chicken sandwich nestled in a toasted buttered bun with dill pickles that gets people going. Everyone has their reasons.
But one thing is for sure — the chicken-focused fast food chain doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. Here are some weird facts you probably didn’t know about Chick-fil-A.
1. Chick-fil-A claims to have invented the fried chicken sandwich as we know it.
Did Chick-fil-A actually invent the concept of sticking chicken between two pieces of bread? No, but they were the first to make a fried chicken sandwich into a reliable fast food at a reasonable price. They were also the first to pressure-fry the chicken slices, which is a far quicker preparation method. The signature Chick-fil-A fried chicken sandwich served on a steamed buttered roll with pickles was introduced in 1964. And after all these years, people still can’t get enough.
2. There’s a secret menu.
Just like your other favorite fast food chains out there, Chick-fil-A has a killer secret menu. Sometimes these secret menu items are even more popular than the regular ones. You’ll have to make a special request to order the buffalo chicken sandwich, free ice cream, fried chicken club, root beer float, spicy char, strawberry lemonade or chicken quesadilla.
3. It’s the largest purchaser of Sunkist lemons in the world.
You might not automatically think of lemons when you think of fast food, but Chick-fil-A is actually the largest purchaser of Sunkist lemons in the world. In 2015, they served 121 million cups of lemonade, which required about 250 million lemons. According to the Chick-fil-A site, they’ve purchased more lemons from Sunkist than the entire country of Japan. The number of lemons keeps going up year by year.
4. The Chick-fil-A special sauce recipe is weird AF.
There’s a supporting role to the chicken, played by the Chick-fil-A special sauce. Fans of the sauce rave that it’s the perfect combination of spicy and sweet. It’s basically a combination of honey mustard, barbecue sauce and ranch dressing with some spices like turmeric, paprika and garlic powder. Strange, but it works.
5. You can get a free sandwich on Cow Appreciation Day.
Every year, Chick-fil-A honors Cow Appreciation Day by giving free entrées to any customers that dress up in cow attire. The level of cow clothing doesn’t matter — so long as you show your spots, you could get a free chicken sandwich or a breakfast sandwich like the Egg White Grill. Do it for the sandwich, people.
6. The “A” in Chick-fil-A is capitalized for a reason.
When the founder of Chick-Fil-A, Truett Cathy, first added the chicken sandwich to the menu in 1964, it was called the chicken fillet. The name was shortened to chick fillet, which led to the name Chick-fil-A. The “A” is intentionally capitalized to stand for the quality of the food.
7. Every time a new location opens, 100 people eat for free for a year.
Whenever a new Chick-fil-A opens — according to the company’s site, 100 new restaurants open each year — the first 100 customers get to eat free Chick-fil-A for a year. That’s a lot of chicken sandwiches. The promo has become so big that there’s something called the First 100® Campout where people literally camp out in the parking lot of the new restaurant to win free food for a year. Talk about commitment.
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