Higher ed's Chick-fil-A bans and boycotts are no match for fast food chain's sales

For years, the left has grilled Chick-fil-A, regularly calling for the popular fast-food chain to be banned or boycotted. Despite all of the backlash ---in addition to being closed on Sundays --- Chick-fil-A’s sales have steadily risen over the last seven years. 

Critics of Chick-fil-A claim the restaurant is “bastion of bigotry,” given its owner’s belief in the biblical definition of marriage. Critics often cite the Chick-fil-A Foundation’s charitable giving to organizations they describe as being hostile to members of the LGBT community, such as the Salvation Army.  

From local activist groups to elected government officials to college campuses, as Campus Reform has documented extensively, the left’s distaste for Chick-fil-A has been marinating for nearly a decade. 

[RELATED: EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Dean resigns over school’s opposition to Chick-fil-A ‘corporate values’]

It’s happened at dozens of college campuses across the country, from Indiana University to Johns Hopkins to Elon University to North Carolina State University and, more recently, University of Kansas, California Polytechnic University, Trinity University, and Rider University. 

In some of these cases, students and faculties were successful in their attempts to either ban Chick-fil-A while in others they tried, but ultimately failed, making Chick-fil-A boycotts the more practical tactic for the most ardent chicken sandwich critics. 

But according to recent media reports, these bans and boycotts have not stalled Chick-fil-A’s sales. In fact, the fast-food chain’s sales have more than doubled since 2012, the same year the company’s founder first publicly expressed his personal belief in the biblical definition of marriage. 

[RELATED: MAP: Campus backlash against Chick-fil-A spreads nationwide]

In 2012, Chick-fil-A’s sales were $4.6 billion, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In 2018, the company’s sales were $10.46 billion, according to the same newspaper in Atlanta, where the company is based.

Chick-fil-A operates more than 2,400 stores in 47 states, according to the Fox Business Network. It is the third-largest fast-food chain in the U.S, behind only McDonalds and Starbucks. 

 “Chick-fil-A is known for their food but quite frankly we’ve become better known for our service and our hospitality,” former Chick-fil-A Chief Marketing Office Steve Robinson told FBN earlier this year. 

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