Chick-fil-A began in 1967 when Truett Cathy opened a restaurant in Atlanta’s Greenbriar Shopping Center.
Cathy had operated the Dwarf Grill in Hapeville, Georgia, for years before developing the boneless chicken sandwich that became the foundation of Chick-fil-A’s restaurant concept. The first Chick-fil-A location opened inside a shopping mall, rather than as a freestanding drive-through restaurant.
The company became especially known for specializing in chicken sandwiches and for closing its restaurants on Sundays. That weekly closure reflects Cathy’s stated religious principles and became one of the chain’s most recognizable operating policies.
The first restaurant’s mall setting is an important detail because many modern customers associate Chick-fil-A primarily with standalone restaurants and drive-through lanes. Its original format was instead a counter-service location inside a shopping center.