A bill introduced last week in the New York State Assembly would require Chick-fil-A restaurants operating at rest areas along the New York State Thruway to remain open seven days a week. The bill, proposed by Assemblyman Tony Simone, a Democrat from the West Side of Manhattan, would fly in the face of the chain’s longstanding practice of closing on Sunday.
The policy was an outgrowth of the faith of the late Truett Cathy, founder of the chain, who decreed that Chick-fil-As be closed on the Christian Sabbath to provide time for managers and employees to attend church.
The bill, which mentions Chick-fil-A by name, maintains that “[w]hile there is nothing objectionable about a fast food restaurant closing on a particular day of the week, service areas dedicated to travelers is [sic] an inappropriate location for such a restaurant.”
Many commentators are viewing the proposed legislation as a political stunt. Assemblyman Simone,” Restaurant Business notes, is “a champion of LGBTQ rights. The bio on his official website indicates that Simone is married to another man.”
Chick-fil-A, for its part, “has drawn fire for supporting groups in the past that held marriage can only take place between a man and a woman. It has been accused repeatedly of being anti-gay and its leaders have acknowledged their conservative Christianity, which holds that homosexuality is wrong.”
The New York State Highway Authority has disputed the claim in Simone’s bill that having a restaurant closed on Sunday would be an “unnecessary inconvenience” to motorists. In a statement, it emphasized that the travel plazas along the thruway are all leased to an outfit called Apple Green. The contract stipulates that at least one restaurant at each plaza remain open around the clock.
“The statement added that Apple Green took Chick-fil-A’s closed-on-Sunday policy into account when planning how it would accommodate travelers.”
See also…
