The Success Story of Truett Cathy and Her Chick-fil-a Restaurant

Truett Cathy, was the owner of Chick-fil-a. He was a man who stood by his morals and faith. Chick-fil-a, has also been in the news for taking a firm stand when it comes to morals and faith. In this paper, some of that will be covered along with how Truett Cathy ran his business. Truett Cathy started a restaurant called the Dwarf Grill back in 1946 with his brother Ben. In the early days of the restaurant, both brothers worked tough shifts but saw good times. An interesting fact about this restaurant is that they didn’t even sell a chicken sandwich at the time. They didn’t start selling chicken sandwiches until after, “Goode Brothers Poultry approached Cathy to see if he would be interested in buying boneless, skinless chicken scraps that wouldn’t fit on Delta Airlines food trays. ” “Tragedy struck in 1949 when two of Cathy's brothers, including Ben, died when a plane they were flying in crashed. ” This paper could have been about both Ben and Truett but sadly he passed away. Truett didn’t give up there. He continued and always was looking forward. He had to find a way to make his chicken sandwich more competitive.

The time difference between a burger and a chicken sandwich was vast. Many could get a burger a lot quicker than they could get one of his sandwiches. "He discovered that a food equipment manufacturer had recently developed a relatively cheap pressure fryer, nicknamed the 'Henry Penny. '" (Nickerson 295) This led to the Chick-fil-a that is known today. “In 1967, Chick-fil-a was born in a tiny 384 square foot store in the Greenbriar Mall. ” He didn’t rush the process. He opened his first restaurant 20 years after the Dwarf Grill. It not only shows his patience but also his wisdom and stewardship. “Having grown up watching his mother struggle to run a boarding house in their home, Cathy hated the idea of carrying debt. ” (Allot) He was careful with the money he had and that is something to be admired. His success did not end there. “Chick-fil-A moves outside of the mall food court in 1986, opening its first stand-alone restaurant on North Druid Hills Road in Atlanta. ”

Truett Cathy continued his success and Chick-fil-a now has, “more than 2, 100 restaurants. ” The amount of growth from 1967 is nothing short of incredible. The ownership of the company really hasn’t changed throughout Chick-fil-a’s 40 plus years of business. Truett began the restaurant and he was CEO of it up until recent. “Chick-fil-A employees were notified Wednesday that Cathy, 92, was stepping down and would be replaced by his son, Dan Cathy, the company’s chief operating officer and president. ” This was in November of 2013. Truett did have those who would advise him, but one thing always took priority. The priority is seen by what Dan, the current CEO said about the reason they exist as a business, “To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A. ” It seems that this is why his business has been family owned. Truett felt so strongly about it being in the family that, “he set up a contract with his children stating that, while they could sell Chick-fil-A, the company must never go public. ” He wanted the restaurant to keep it’s priorities and not be moved back and forth by what investors or stockholders wanted. Currently, the company’s chairman and CEO is Dan Cathy (son), the company’s vice president is Donald Cathy (son), and the company’s ambassador is Trudy Cathy (daughter).

It also sounds like the company will continue to run in the family as well. “Just as Truett Cathy built Chick-fil-A alongside his wife and children, today several second and third generation Cathy family members are carrying on that tradition. ” It doesn’t look like the ownership of Chick-fil-a will be changing any time soon. The company’s financial future looks good. They are trying to be a bit different though. “Chick-fil-A said it's the first quick-service restaurant to launch a meal kit service. ” This was kicked off this past August and is a risky idea, but it is only a test for now. It could be very rewarding because they are the “first quick-service restaurant” to do this but time will tell. The restaurant though is looking good. “In an industry experiencing intensified competition, Chick-fil-A's focus simply hasn't strayed from the food and the service. If the brand continues to stick to these basics, there’s no reason to believe it won’t hit the top three within two years, with potential to ascend even higher. ” It seems that Chick-fil-a has a solid future when it comes to the fast food industry. It may not be as big as some of it’s competitors but it is competing. To flesh out just a few numbers, “Chick-fil-A’s average sales per restaurant were $4. 4 million – nearly $2 million more than McDonald’s. ” It is somewhat shocking, but Chick-fil-a is doing great. It appears that Chick-fil-a will continue to rise. There are a few reasons for this rise. It is common knowledge, or at least for anyone who has gone to a Chick-fil-a, that their service is very professional and nice. Its food is also very good.

Most fast food restaurants have mediocre service. Many of these employees don’t act like they like their jobs. Chick-fil-a workers do have a different attitude and seem to genuinely enjoy their job. One number that is fairly shocking is, “In an industry where the average turnover rate among store operators is 35 percent, it’s less than 5 percent a year at Chick-fil-A. ” It’s turnover rate for counter help is, “125 percent, versus the industry average of 300 percent. ” This shows that Chick-fil-a has its customer service right. It looks for the right people and hire the right people. It could be better but they are almost 3 times better than the industry average. It’s no wonder that they have a bright future. One other reason they have had such success is the fact that it is more financially easy to start a franchise. Starting a franchise costs $10, 000 dollars. This is an incredibly small number compared to that of starting a franchise at McDonalds. “Generally, we require a minimum of $500, 000 of non-borrowed personal resources to consider you for a franchise. ” This also shows why Chick-fil-a is moving up. They are making it easier for franchisees to begin and allows for more locations to open. Chick-fil-a has probably one of the most iconic marketing campaigns in recent history. “In 1995, a renegade cow, paintbrush in mouth, painted the three words "EAT MOR CHIKIN" on a Texas billboard. ” If a cow is on tv, it is most likely a cow telling the crowd to “EAT MOR CHIKIN. ” This ad campaign has been going strong for many years but did take a break in 2004. “When Mad Cow Disease hit the US in 2004, the campaign was halted in an effort to not appear insensitive or cruel. ” Even though it took a break for that year, the campaign is still very strong. Nationwide, these commercials can be seen during college football games. They even have become big sponsors at bowl games like the “Chick-fil-a Peach Bowl. ”

One reason to the early success of Chick-fil-a and Truett was its location. The location of his first restaurant, the Dwarf Grill, benefited him greatly due to it being beside a Ford factory. Chick-fil-a was also helped by its location as well. He was a devout Baptist and stood strong to his convictions. The restaurant is not open on Sundays and that decision has been seen as unwise by many. They started in the Georgia. Many of their first locations were in the south. Due to his strong faith, I believe this helped him find the right employees and the clients to enjoy his food and service. Being in the Bible belt surely helped his business thrive and become what it is today. I apologize for this being late. I wanted to get as much info about him as I could and I was shocked at a lot of what I learned. I had no clue it was started back in the 40s. His persistence, stewardship, and faith are all so encouraging. I was wanting to do the paper on Colonel Sanders for KFC…. But I am so glad that I did this instead!