NBC News co-anchor Craig Melvin repeatedly pressed Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew Cathy about the company’s Christian faith and history of supporting traditional marriage during Cathy’s first broadcast interview. The questions came after Cathy openly described faith in God as an “anchor” for the family-owned restaurant chain. Melvin revisited protests against the company and demanded its current position on “equal rights.” Cathy refused to be pulled into a political declaration and instead emphasized that Chick-fil-A welcomes and serves everyone who walks through its doors.
The exchange aired Wednesday, October 14th, as part of NBC News’ “Business in America” series. Cathy became the company’s chief executive in 2021, following his father, Dan Cathy, and grandfather, Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy. The privately held chain now generates nearly $24 billion in sales across approximately 2,900 locations. Much of the interview covered the company’s history, Sunday closures, signature chicken sandwich, growth and customer-service model before Melvin shifted the discussion toward its religious beliefs.
Melvin described Chick-fil-A as a company “built on God” and asked whether Christianity remained part of its corporate DNA. Cathy didn’t shy away from the premise. “It’s our anchor in the sense of what our corporate purpose states, that we’re in business to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that’s entrusted to us, and have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A,” he said. The declaration has remained part of Chick-fil-A’s stated corporate purpose as the business has expanded internationally.
A clip of the exchange showed NBC immediately following Cathy’s answer with a packaged review of the company’s 2012 controversy. The segment said Dan Cathy had publicly opposed gay marriage and that financial disclosures showed Chick-fil-A donated millions of dollars to conservative Christian organizations accused of opposing LGBTQ rights. NBC also noted that the resulting backlash produced protests, boycotts and political confrontations across the country. Dan Cathy later expressed regret about involving the company in the political dispute, although he didn’t retract his personal beliefs about marriage.
Melvin asked what Andrew Cathy would tell people who protested Chick-fil-A or claimed it didn’t support the LGBTQ community. “Well, for anybody that hasn’t tried us, we’d love for you to come try and have our great-tasting food and the hospitality that we’re known for,” Cathy responded. “I think that everybody that will be willing to walk in the door, they’ll see that they’re welcome to come eat with us. We’d love to give them a great-tasting sandwich and give them great hospitality.”
“You don’t want to talk about that chapter in Chick-fil-A’s history,” Melvin said after Cathy’s answer. “We’re focused on serving everybody that comes in to eat with us,” Cathy replied. Melvin then asked for the company’s “official position on equal rights,” giving Cathy another opportunity to make a broader political statement. “We’re focused on hospitality, serving great-tasting food, and great service,” Cathy said.
Watch Melvin repeatedly press Cathy about Chick-fil-A’s Christian beliefs and history here:
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Chick-fil-A changed its charitable-giving strategy in 2019 after years of political pressure over donations to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Salvation Army. The company redirected its giving toward organizations addressing education, hunger and homelessness. Its Christian foundation nevertheless remains publicly visible through its corporate purpose and longstanding policy of closing every restaurant on Sundays. Cathy said the weekly closure provides employees with a dependable day for church, rest, family or whatever they choose to pursue outside work.
Melvin also asked whether the company had calculated how much money it loses by remaining closed on Sundays. Cathy said he had never performed that calculation because abandoning the policy wasn’t under consideration. He credited the company’s private, family-controlled structure with allowing its leadership to prioritize longstanding commitments instead of extracting every possible dollar from the business. “It’s never something that we’re entertaining,” Cathy said. “It’s just too important for us.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.