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The sky is falling for fast food, but not for Chick-fil-A. Here’s why.

Experts cite careful growth, strong customer service and an embrace of new technologies for the chicken chain’s surge

By
June 19, 2019 at 7:00 a.m. EDT
In 2015, employees prepare sandwiches for guests during an event ahead of the grand opening for a Chick-fil-A restaurant in New York. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg)

Through the diligent efforts of those billboard cows with their poor penmanship and dubious spelling skills, Chick-fil-A has moved up the ranks from the seventh-largest restaurant chain in the United States to become the third.

The chicken sandwich giant blew past Wendy’s, Burger King, Taco Bell and Subway on its ascent, with $10.46 billion in American store sales, according to Nation’s Restaurant News’ latest countdown. Up 17 percent for the year, Chick-fil-A stands behind only McDonald’s ($38.52 billion in American sales) and Starbucks ($20.49 billion).