People in Atlanta love their Chick-fil-A, which was founded just outside the city, so it should come as no surprise that there’ll be a stand in the Falcons’ new home at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
But Falcons fans probably won’t be happy to hear that the restaurant won’t be changing its hours.
Chick-fil-A has been closed on Sundays for its entire existence, which means it’ll only be open once during the Falcons’ season. Atlanta plays a Thursday night game against the New Orleans Saints on Dec. 7, but the team’s other seven home games are on Sundays.
People in the Atlanta area still will be able to get their chicken fix at the stadium, though, as it’ll host plenty of other events like Atlanta United games, select college football games and concerts. Falcons fans will have a loophole, too, because Atlanta-based chef Kevin Gillespie will have a stand to sell his COS (closed on Sunday) chicken sandwich.
And judging by what Gillespie wrote about it on his website, it sounds like it’s the next best thing.
‘‘The fast-food chain Chick-fil-A is based here in Atlanta,’’ Gillespie wrote. ‘‘They’re closed on Sunday for religious reasons. I respect that. But why is it that I crave a Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich almost exclusively on Sundays? It’s like clockwork. I wake up on Sunday morning and think, ‘You know what would be really good right now? A Chick-fil-A sandwich.’ Like most food companies, they guard their secret recipe. But it’s a breaded fried chicken breast on a bun with pickles. I figured I could come up with something pretty close.’’
Thumbnail photo via Brett Davis/USA TODAY Sports Images
