Food for Thought: Chick-fil-A's Popularity and the Generational Divide on Activism

[Anonymous]

“Boomers, despite their activist veneer, had the advantage of a favorable economic landscape – think affordable college tuition, booming wages, and reasonable housing costs.“

All these economic generational comparisons are far more complicated and nuanced than people want to believe when they make these broad, and largely ignorant, generalizations.

My parents dealt with 13% mortgage rates.

—wealthy millennial

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chick-Fil-A is hard to beat for fast casual. The food is great, the price is good, the restaurants are always very clean, the bathrooms are always tidy.

My husband and I (we mid 50s in age) can go there for a quick lunch on a weekday or a weekend when our teen has other things to do. The employees swing by asking if we need a drink top up, more condiments, etc., which makes it feel a bit like an actual sit-down restaurant with servers. We feel pampered, catered to, and the service is always excellent. The employees are always very nice. I have yet to leave a Chick-Fil-A and think "well, that was horrible."

I am not surprised at all to see Chick-Fil-A top the list.

Pampered? Lol

They’ve never given you a foot massage while you’re eating your waffle fries?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t get the love for their food. It’s fine but not good and is basic fast food. Popeyes is much better.

Popeyes is better, but the service at my local is ridiculously bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“Boomers, despite their activist veneer, had the advantage of a favorable economic landscape – think affordable college tuition, booming wages, and reasonable housing costs.“

All these economic generational comparisons are far more complicated and nuanced than people want to believe when they make these broad, and largely ignorant, generalizations.

My parents dealt with 13% mortgage rates.

—wealthy millennial

On ,50k incomes and 75k houses

[Anonymous]

Sorry ... I'm still stuck on "Olive Garden."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think Chik Fil A's appeal is that their employees are so polite, kind and efficient. And the place is clean. If I'm feeling bad, I know that the employees there will be kind to me.

Compared to a filthy McDonalds where they sling food at you, that's typically the wrong order and they don't talk. They just grunt and point at the price at the register. The place is filthy too because their employees don't clean anything.

All of this plus their app is great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't really get the love for Chick-fil-A. Is it something you had to grow up with and like it for nostalgia? Is it only compared to other fast food? I tried it once when they opened in NYC and the Gen-Z team members wanted it for a work lunch. It was....fine? It definitely did not live up to the hype.

No, it’s a “newer” chain. The love for CFA is that the fast food places we grew up with were trash…McD’s, Burger King, Hardee’s/Carl Jr…..and here comes CFA with real chicken, clean bright premises, friendly workers. Win win win.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't really get the love for Chick-fil-A. Is it something you had to grow up with and like it for nostalgia? Is it only compared to other fast food? I tried it once when they opened in NYC and the Gen-Z team members wanted it for a work lunch. It was....fine? It definitely did not live up to the hype.

No, it’s a “newer” chain. The love for CFA is that the fast food places we grew up with were trash…McD’s, Burger King, Hardee’s/Carl Jr…..and here comes CFA with real chicken, clean bright premises, friendly workers. Win win win.

How old are you? 100?

[Anonymous]

I work with extremely liberal young people, some of whom are gay and trans. Everyone eats the CFA at work while also referring to it as “homophobic chicken.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't really get the love for Chick-fil-A. Is it something you had to grow up with and like it for nostalgia? Is it only compared to other fast food? I tried it once when they opened in NYC and the Gen-Z team members wanted it for a work lunch. It was....fine? It definitely did not live up to the hype.

No, it’s a “newer” chain. The love for CFA is that the fast food places we grew up with were trash…McD’s, Burger King, Hardee’s/Carl Jr…..and here comes CFA with real chicken, clean bright premises, friendly workers. Win win win.

How old are you? 100?

44

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't really get the love for Chick-fil-A. Is it something you had to grow up with and like it for nostalgia? Is it only compared to other fast food? I tried it once when they opened in NYC and the Gen-Z team members wanted it for a work lunch. It was....fine? It definitely did not live up to the hype.

No, it’s a “newer” chain. The love for CFA is that the fast food places we grew up with were trash…McD’s, Burger King, Hardee’s/Carl Jr…..and here comes CFA with real chicken, clean bright premises, friendly workers. Win win win.

How old are you? 100?

Chick-fil-a was founded a long time ago but it was pretty limited location-wise for a long time. I grew up in a large city in FL (so very close to where it was founded) and we didn’t even get one until I was in high school. I’m in my early 30s. A lot of my friends didn’t have it until college or even a few years after.

[Anonymous]

Founded
May 23, 1946; 77 years ago in Hapeville, Georgia, U.S.

[Anonymous]

I had my first CFA in my late 30s

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:CFA is delicious and gay people eat there too.

Can confirm. I'm gay. Married a gay. We love some CFA.

I actually know the owner of the 2 CFA locations in my area. Our kids play on the same lax team. She's not religious. She's not anti-choice. She's not anti-gay. I feel fine eating there.

[Anonymous]

I have celiac disease and they are one of the few places that don’t fry other things in with their waffle fries, so I can eat them.

I am also gay and so enjoyed my hate fries with a side of guilt. However, I now hear that the MAGAts are boycotting “woke chicken” so I guess I can enjoy my hate fries with only ketchup!

https://boingboing.net/2023/06/02/maga-woman-grieves-after-finding-out-chick-fil-a-is-serving-woke-chicken-video.html