I love me some Chick-fil-A! In our city, Chick-fil-A has slowly been adding more stores, and with each one, I feel a little more thankful for a family-friendly fast food chain that has some pretty healthy choices on its menus. They also serve up freindliness, courtesy, and smiles. I guess I am not the only one who likes the overall atmosphere of Chick-fil-A. Some customers at one of the newest and largest branches of the chain are feeling pretty good about it, too.
According to writer Ginia Bellafante in a recent New York Times article, the chain’s newest location in a 5,000-square-foot building that takes up three stories on the Avenues of the Americas at 37th Street in Midtown Manhattan is popular enough that often there’s a line down the street at lunch time.
Bellafante, in the same article, went on to give a little history of Chick-fil-a and an explanation of why its presence in New York is so remarkable.
Created by a conservative Christian child of public housing, S. Truett Cathy, in Georgia, in the mid-20th century, Chick-fil-A has come under fire during the past few years over comments made by the founder’s son Dan Cathy, the company’s president, in opposition to same-sex marriage.
Those remarks followed revelations that the company’s foundation had donated considerable sums of money to groups working to prevent the legalization of same-sex marriage. Advocates began boycotting the chain and tried to stop new franchises from opening across the country.
In 2012, Christine C. Quinn, who was then the City Council speaker, spoke out against the company, proclaiming that it was not welcome in the city, and wrote a letter to John Sexton, the president of New York University, urging him to get rid of a Chick-fil-A stall that had a presence in one of the school’s food courts. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg disagreed with her. The year before, N.Y.U.’s Student Senators Council had voted not to ban the chain on the grounds of free expression.
What those naive students at NYU forgot is a fundamental rule of liberalism—only the left is allowed to freely express theselves. That’s why the media had a hayday with the news of the chicken chain holding a position against gay marriage. Liberals all over social media earnestly urged their friends and connections to take their dining business elsewhere, lest the Christians gain some ground in the world. Tolerance, it seems, takes a holiday when it comes to Christians and anyone who doesn’t lean left.
The problem with Chick-fil-a is that they just don’t care what the left thinks. They keep on being a good employer. At that big NYC store, CFA is paying entry level employees $11 an hour–$2 more than the minimum wage in New York. They are also community minded. They regularly donate money to food charities, like the 250 pounds of chicken they have already given to the New York Common Pantry since the new store opened on October 3. Then there are the heartwarming stories about the chain—like last year when they fed people stranded along the highway in an icestorm in Alabama. There is really no way liberals can get away with criticizing that kind of generosity and kindness!
Chick-fil-a is living out the words of the Psalms in the midst of their enemies: “Trust in the LORD and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.” Psalm 37:3 (NIV)
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