A New York legislator has introduced a bill designed to force all restaurants within state travel plazas to be open seven days a week – a requirement that appears to be aimed specifically at the Chick-fil-A chain.
According to a Business Insider report, the bill introduced by Assemblyman Tony Simone, a Manhattan Democrat, would require the restaurants to either operate every day or face removal from their travel plaza locations. Since its founding in 1967, Chick-fil-A does not operate on Sundays – the chain’s founder, Truett Cathy, explained in his autobiography that “losing our business on Sunday, the Lord’s Day, is our way of honoring God and showing our loyalty to Him.”
A spokesperson for Simone insisted that the chain “could easily serve their customers better if their restaurants were open seven days a week. The bill addresses the need for any restaurant that serves travelers to be open seven days a week. When it comes to travel areas, like rest stops, bus stations, and airports, people are often traveling on Sundays, and so it doesn’t make any sense for one of the few restaurants available at these locations to be closed on one of the busiest travel days of the week.”
Simone is the first openly gay politician representing his 75th Assembly district. Chick-fil-A has been the subject of complaints by LGBTQ advocates who claimed the chain was supportive of organizations and legislation hostile to the LGBTQ community.
Chick-fil-A has eateries in nine New York travel plazas, including regional locations in Hastings-on-Hudson, Plattekill and Sloatsburg.
Photo by Mike Mozart / Flickr Creativ Commons
