Why does Chick-fil-A avoid the Northeast

[Rothman]

Will we please knock off the "Chick-fil-a" is not in the Northeast.   Amazing how one person can mis-speak about something, and it carries like wildfire.

A quick check of their location finder reveals stores in these states

2 stores in NH
4 in MA
2 in NY
1 in RI

Given the number of other fast food restaurants in the Northeast, the numbers are underwhelming.

For some reason, I'm reminded of how Dairy Queen has found it nearly impossible to enter the Pioneer Valley of MA due to fierce loyalty to local ice cream shops (which are worth it).  Locals hold it as a badge of honor that Cold Stone had to close down in Northampton as well.

Of course, a Dairy Queen is opening just down the road from me.  That non-ice-cream-stuff they sell is still a wonderful guilty pleasure...

[jeffandnicole]

Will we please knock off the "Chick-fil-a" is not in the Northeast.   Amazing how one person can mis-speak about something, and it carries like wildfire.

A quick check of their location finder reveals stores in these states

2 stores in NH
4 in MA
2 in NY
1 in RI

Given the number of other fast food restaurants in the Northeast, the numbers are underwhelming.

For some reason, I'm reminded of how Dairy Queen has found it nearly impossible to enter the Pioneer Valley of MA due to fierce loyalty to local ice cream shops (which are worth it).  Locals hold it as a badge of honor that Cold Stone had to close down in Northampton as well.

Of course, a Dairy Queen is opening just down the road from me.  That non-ice-cream-stuff they sell is still a wonderful guilty pleasure...

True, especially when you redefine Northeast and leave out PA & NJ.  The New England numbers are very low, but there's a difference between low and "avoid the Northeast", which they haven't done, and per their location guide they have low numbers in other states and regions as well.

Speaking of Dairy Queen, there are very few in this area (NJ) as well.  There's one near me that is simply a Dairy Queen "Restaurant", vs many Grill & Chills, although I really can't figure out the difference between the two.

[cl94]

Will we please knock off the "Chick-fil-a" is not in the Northeast.   Amazing how one person can mis-speak about something, and it carries like wildfire.

A quick check of their location finder reveals stores in these states

2 stores in NH
4 in MA
2 in NY
1 in RI

Given the number of other fast food restaurants in the Northeast, the numbers are underwhelming.

For some reason, I'm reminded of how Dairy Queen has found it nearly impossible to enter the Pioneer Valley of MA due to fierce loyalty to local ice cream shops (which are worth it).  Locals hold it as a badge of honor that Cold Stone had to close down in Northampton as well.

Of course, a Dairy Queen is opening just down the road from me.  That non-ice-cream-stuff they sell is still a wonderful guilty pleasure...

True, especially when you redefine Northeast and leave out PA & NJ.  The New England numbers are very low, but there's a difference between low and "avoid the Northeast", which they haven't done, and per their location guide they have low numbers in other states and regions as well.

Speaking of Dairy Queen, there are very few in this area (NJ) as well.  There's one near me that is simply a Dairy Queen "Restaurant", vs many Grill & Chills, although I really can't figure out the difference between the two.

The northeast has a lot of regional chains. Cumberland Farms, Stewart's, and a couple of other local establishments have limited 7 Eleven's numbers in a good portion of Upstate New York, Western Massachusetts, and northern New England. Every town in New York and New England is fiercely loyal to the local ice cream shop/Stewart's/Byrne Dairy to the point where national chains (other than Friendly's, which is local) are virtually nonexistent in much of the region. The main supermarket chains are regional. Every town has its local hot dog place/greasy spoon that everyone is insanely loyal to. For the most part, the locals just don't go to the chains and the local restaurants have become so ingrained in the culture that they are tourist destinations unto themselves.

The northeast market is pretty much saturated as it is. Any new store will likely drive something else out of business.

[Brian556]

Chick-fil-A has some of the best quality fast food out there. Their quality is consistent. They also have very good and fast service, despite their resteraunts being very busy. Their employees are more polite and higher caliber than other fast food reseraunts.

The being closed on Sunday thing isn't just about church; it also allows people to spend time with family and friends, and is a good rebellion against the "fuck the employees, make them slave away as much as possible so we can make as much as possible" culture that most companies have.

One of the reasons other than the good food that people go there is to support the company for treating their employees better.

BTW...I cannot spell resteraunt correctly and it's not in the spell check dictionary.

[roadman65]

I grew up in New Jersey, and I can tell you that Chick Fil A is not the only one to avoid that sector of the US.  It took us a long time to get our first Pizza Hut.  I believe Long John Silvers still will not cross the Delaware River into the Garden State, as they always came to cities along the river, but never being part of that area across the water like in Easton.

My aunt asked an employee of the Wilson, PA store of why Long Johns won't open a store in NJ, and was told that management refuses to pay the high taxes that New Jersey implements on businesses. 

Also, in 1988, we were craving a Pizza Hut Pizza while traveling back to New Jersey from Mystic, CT along I-95 when passing through Milford, CT.  Needless to say we got off of 95 and used Route 1 as if one was going to be it would be there, but however we drove all the way to Bridgeport and did not see one along the road that had everything else, but a Pizza Hut.  I am to say that Pizza Hut in that time period avoided settling in Connecticut unless it was just US 1that they kept them off of.  That somewhere else they did have stores located even near US 1 by even a block.

You just cannot take for granted that a store that is usually a dime a dozen in most places, will be scarce to none in some others.  Like CVS and Walgreens compete with each other on street corners everyplace in Florida, but go to Dallas and Plano, and you will not find them, especially along I-635 and US 75.  I needed camera batteries on my last trip through there and noticed that there were none, as usually Walgreens and CVS are the best place for me other than Wal Marts to buy batteries in a pinch.

[Brandon]

Chick-fil-A has some of the best quality fast food out there.

Tried them once here around Chicago.  I couldn't for the life of me see what all the fuss was about.  It was merely average to me, and their idea of "spicy" for their spicy chicken failed to impress.  Pardon me while go down the street to Popeye's, if I want chicken.

[Brandon]

You just cannot take for granted that a store that is usually a dime a dozen in most places, will be scarce to none in some others.  Like CVS and Walgreens compete with each other on street corners everyplace in Florida, but go to Dallas and Plano, and you will not find them, especially along I-635 and US 75.  I needed camera batteries on my last trip through there and noticed that there were none, as usually Walgreens and CVS are the best place for me other than Wal Marts to buy batteries in a pinch.

Walgreens has only one store in all of North Dakota, in Fargo, and it does not have a pharmacy.  Why?  Because North Dakota requires a pharmacy to be 51% owned by a pharmacist in that pharmacy.  Hence, you will not find Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, or any Walmart, Target, or grocer with a pharmacy in the entire state.

[bandit957]

I grew up in New Jersey, and I can tell you that Chick Fil A is not the only one to avoid that sector of the US.  It took us a long time to get our first Pizza Hut.  I believe Long John Silvers still will not cross the Delaware River into the Garden State, as they always came to cities along the river, but never being part of that area across the water like in Easton.

It seems like everyone avoids Cincinnati. Except of course Chick-fil-A, which everyone hates.

A few years ago, Chick-fil-A had a float in the Reds Opening Day parade, and everyone booed the float.

[roadman65]

I would like to know why Wal Mart will not open many Super Centers in New Jersey?   You seem to find most of them clothing and other accessories, but no super market.  Wal Mart prides themselves on not just being a typical department store, but a grocery store as well and do nothing to stop at that except in New Jersey.

Obviously New Jersey has something that is able to frighten even Wal Mart and has.

[Brandon]

I would like to know why Wal Mart will not open many Super Centers in New Jersey?   You seem to find most of them clothing and other accessories, but no super market.  Wal Mart prides themselves on not just being a typical department store, but a grocery store as well and do nothing to stop at that except in New Jersey.

Obviously New Jersey has something that is able to frighten even Wal Mart and has.

Could be a law that separates the grocery and department store sections.  I've heard of oddball New Jersey laws like that (such as the self-service gasoline one).

[PHLBOS]

Will we please knock off the "Chick-fil-a" is not in the Northeast.   Amazing how one person can mis-speak about something, and it carries like wildfire.

A quick check of their location finder reveals stores in these states

2 stores in NH
4 in MA
2 in NY
1 in RI
65 in PA
29 in NJ

Also, a quick check of the location finder reveals that they don't a presence in these non-northeast states either:

Montana
North Dakota
Hawaii
Alaska

...
So, in the end, no one has any proof whatsoever that they haven't built a restaurant in the northeast because of the issues from several years ago. 

^^This.

There's 2 near where I live; Springfield & Folsom (both in Delaware County, PA).  There was a third but it was located inside the now-deceased Granite Run Mall.

Fried chicken is a lot bigger down south.

They do offer grilled chicken choices as well.  Their grilled nuggets just melt in one's mouth.  They have a few good salad (w/chicken pieces) choices as well.

According to Chik Fil-A's website; one just opened in Manhattan as of this Oct. 3 at:
37th & 6th In-Line
1000 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10018
(212) 704-9920

[Rothman]

Although I'm not really a fan of Michael Moore, his interview with the British pharmacist comes to mind:

"I haven't been trained that many years to be selling detergent..."

[jeffandnicole]

I grew up in New Jersey, and I can tell you that Chick Fil A is not the only one to avoid that sector of the US.  It took us a long time to get our first Pizza Hut.  I believe Long John Silvers still will not cross the Delaware River into the Garden State, as they always came to cities along the river, but never being part of that area across the water like in Easton.

My aunt asked an employee of the Wilson, PA store of why Long Johns won't open a store in NJ, and was told that management refuses to pay the high taxes that New Jersey implements on businesses. 

Sigh.  Seriously people.  Use the fricken internet.  Every fricken store has an online store locater.  "Management" doesn't have to pay anything anyway - it's the corporation, franchisee, or property owner that pays, and they would be paying property taxes regardless of what restaurant was on that property.  Sorry, but that's a bullshit excuse your aunt got.

https://goo.gl/maps/5B2rSTUCxyM2
https://goo.gl/maps/oFSSFgRSNSv
https://goo.gl/maps/oXPKPC3Jzrp

As far as Pizza Hut goes, I've always had one down my way in NJ.  I still remember the Book It program from when I was in elementary school, 30 long years ago.

It seems like everyone avoids Cincinnati. Except of course Chick-fil-A, which everyone hates.

So then there's a whole bunch of Chick-fil-a restaurants that get no business whatsoever, but yet they stay open??

Sorry.  "Bandit957" may hate them, but "Bandit957" is not everyone.

I would like to know why Wal Mart will not open many Super Centers in New Jersey?   You seem to find most of them clothing and other accessories, but no super market.  Wal Mart prides themselves on not just being a typical department store, but a grocery store as well and do nothing to stop at that except in New Jersey.

Obviously New Jersey has something that is able to frighten even Wal Mart and has.

Obviously, this is wrong too, but hey, why argue with someone who hasn't lived in the state in 20 years.  There are numerous supercenters throughout the state.  And the 'regular' stores have all converted to Supercenters that have everything a supermarket would have, with the only exception being produce is sold by the piece, or bagged (no scales at the registers).   It's amazing how wrong you can be about New Jersey, because you act as if time has stopped up here for 20 years.

[SteveG1988]

I would like to know why Wal Mart will not open many Super Centers in New Jersey?   You seem to find most of them clothing and other accessories, but no super market.  Wal Mart prides themselves on not just being a typical department store, but a grocery store as well and do nothing to stop at that except in New Jersey.

Obviously New Jersey has something that is able to frighten even Wal Mart and has.

Could be a law that separates the grocery and department store sections.  I've heard of oddball New Jersey laws like that (such as the self-service gasoline one).

The only law i know of is in Burlington Township NJ, requires grocery stores to be a certain distance apart, so when they converted the 1993 Walmart to a SuperCenter in 2014, they had to put the grocer section where the auto center was.

It comes down to zoning/planning boards in towns. If the permits are not issued, they cannot expand. If a United Food and Commercial Worker Union member is on said board, they would have an incentive to push to decline the permits. Just a theory, not true or false.

[PHLBOS]

The being closed on Sunday thing isn't just about church; it also allows people to spend time with family and friends, and is a good rebellion against the "f#ck the employees, make them slave away as much as possible so we can make as much as possible" culture that most companies have.

One of the reasons other than the good food that people go there is to support the company for treating their employees better.

Somethings are indeed more important than money... even for businesses.

BTW...I cannot spell resteraunt correctly and it's not in the spell check dictionary.

For future reference: restaurant

Tip: if one can find a word in the Spell Check dictionary on this site, try another site (Google or Bing) or type it in a Microsoft Word document and use their Spell Check feature.

[bandit957]

So then there's a whole bunch of Chick-fil-a restaurants that get no business whatsoever, but yet they stay open??

Why do Kroger stores in urban areas do great business, yet they often close?

A lot of people in charge of businesses have no business sense.

[jeffandnicole]

I would like to know why Wal Mart will not open many Super Centers in New Jersey?   You seem to find most of them clothing and other accessories, but no super market.  Wal Mart prides themselves on not just being a typical department store, but a grocery store as well and do nothing to stop at that except in New Jersey.

Obviously New Jersey has something that is able to frighten even Wal Mart and has.

Could be a law that separates the grocery and department store sections.  I've heard of oddball New Jersey laws like that (such as the self-service gasoline one).

The only law i know of is in Burlington Township NJ, requires grocery stores to be a certain distance apart, so when they converted the 1993 Walmart to a SuperCenter in 2014, they had to put the grocer section where the auto center was.

It comes down to zoning/planning boards in towns. If the permits are not issued, they cannot expand. If a United Food and Commercial Worker Union member is on said board, they would have an incentive to push to decline the permits. Just a theory, not true or false.

We have two new Walmarts in Deptford, which operate just like every other Supercenter around the country.  And many other Walmarts I've been in seem to operate just like I would expect to find in a Walmart throughout the country.  If there are exceptions, they are very rare.

So then there's a whole bunch of Chick-fil-a restaurants that get no business whatsoever, but yet they stay open??

Why do Kroger stores in urban areas do great business, yet they often close?

A lot of people in charge of businesses have no business sense.

Um, ok.  Not sure what this has to do with Chick-fil-a store in Cincinnati though.

[roadman65]

I grew up in New Jersey, and I can tell you that Chick Fil A is not the only one to avoid that sector of the US.  It took us a long time to get our first Pizza Hut.  I believe Long John Silvers still will not cross the Delaware River into the Garden State, as they always came to cities along the river, but never being part of that area across the water like in Easton.

My aunt asked an employee of the Wilson, PA store of why Long Johns won't open a store in NJ, and was told that management refuses to pay the high taxes that New Jersey implements on businesses. 

Sigh.  Seriously people.  Use the fricken internet.  Every fricken store has an online store locater.  "Management" doesn't have to pay anything anyway - it's the corporation, franchisee, or property owner that pays, and they would be paying property taxes regardless of what restaurant was on that property.  Sorry, but that's a bullshit excuse your aunt got.

https://goo.gl/maps/5B2rSTUCxyM2
https://goo.gl/maps/oFSSFgRSNSv
https://goo.gl/maps/oXPKPC3Jzrp

As far as Pizza Hut goes, I've always had one down my way in NJ.  I still remember the Book It program from when I was in elementary school, 30 long years ago.

It seems like everyone avoids Cincinnati. Except of course Chick-fil-A, which everyone hates.

So then there's a whole bunch of Chick-fil-a restaurants that get no business whatsoever, but yet they stay open??

Sorry.  "Bandit957" may hate them, but "Bandit957" is not everyone.

I would like to know why Wal Mart will not open many Super Centers in New Jersey?   You seem to find most of them clothing and other accessories, but no super market.  Wal Mart prides themselves on not just being a typical department store, but a grocery store as well and do nothing to stop at that except in New Jersey.

Obviously New Jersey has something that is able to frighten even Wal Mart and has.

Obviously, this is wrong too, but hey, why argue with someone who hasn't lived in the state in 20 years.  There are numerous supercenters throughout the state.  And the 'regular' stores have all converted to Supercenters that have everything a supermarket would have, with the only exception being produce is sold by the piece, or bagged (no scales at the registers).   It's amazing how wrong you can be about New Jersey, because you act as if time has stopped up here for 20 years.

First of all when I left New Jersey in 1990 there were no Wal Marts! Secondly, all the times I visited the state since then, I have found all the stores I patronized were clothing only and other accessories.  Even in 2012, the one in Readington, NJ and also the one on US 22 in Watchung both lacked supermarkets.

Finally, if you ever owned a Rand McNally from Wal Mart, it list all and I mean ALL of their locations.  So I can see which ones have Super Centers and which ones do not!  New Jersey lacked them while the 49 other states had them!  Plus my relatives and friends still live there and they noticed all of this too!

As far as my aunt, goes I did not say I agree with that statement considering that Taco Bell is owned by the same company and they, first in South Jersey, and then finally in North Jersey opened stores up.  You would figure one opens the other should too, but anyway that is what she was told at the time.  Yes, times have changed and maybe now it might be different.  Who knows if they opened one since! I am hoping they did as I like Long Johns.

End rant.

[1995hoo]

....

Also, in 1988, we were craving a Pizza Hut Pizza while traveling back to New Jersey from Mystic, CT along I-95 when passing through Milford, CT.  Needless to say we got off of 95 and used Route 1 as if one was going to be it would be there, but however we drove all the way to Bridgeport and did not see one along the road that had everything else, but a Pizza Hut.  I am to say that Pizza Hut in that time period avoided settling in Connecticut unless it was just US 1that they kept them off of.  That somewhere else they did have stores located even near US 1 by even a block.

....

I'm pretty sure Pizza Hut operated in at least some parts of Connecticut, though not necessarily everywhere, at around that timeframe. Reason is, in July 1989 I went on a Boy Scout trip up to PEI for the Canadian Jamboree. We drove up from Virginia in two cars, my father (who was the Scoutmaster) driving one and another father driving the other. On the way back, we stopped for the night in Southington, Connecticut, and I distinctly remember we had dinner at a Pizza Hut because my father started a small food fight and we almost got thrown out of the restaurant. (Funny the sorts of things that will cause you to remember having been somewhere, huh?!!!!)

I have not been on that particular segment of I-84 since August 1990, so I have no idea whether the Pizza Hut is still there.

[J N Winkler]

And going back to the gay marriage thing: Yes, people may not visit the store because of that.  Then again, people may not visit the store because there's no restaurants around them.  When the story first came out, I remember people using their internet rage to tell others they are boycotting them.

Many even said that they would boycott them even though they've never been to one.  Or, that they never heard of the restaurant.  Or, that if they were traveling, they would make sure to boycott them.  The makings of a successful boycott seems to be that they will most likely never pass by one anyway. 

So, in the end, no one has any proof whatsoever that they haven't built a restaurant in the northeast because of the issues from several years ago.

I wouldn't expect to see much evidence that management's anti-gay attitudes have had an effect on expansion, for these reasons:

*  At the local level, the calls for a boycott often had an antipersuasive effect.  Wichita opened one of its Chick-fil-A outlets at the height of the controversy and did roaring business from counterprotesters.  There are places even in blue states where overtly bigoted businesses can expect to do well.

*  The chain almost immediately laundered its reputation by publicly disclaiming contributions to anti-gay causes.  The giving still continues, but under the table.

*  People invariably choose how far they wish to inconvenience themselves in the service of a cause they support.  I am still boycotting Chick-fil-A, for example, but I still buy Barilla pasta because I have no other convenient source for fettuccine.  (At the height of the Barilla controversy, some were even suggesting that those wishing to show solidarity with gays should throw out boxes of Barilla they had already bought.  Why?  It harms the buyer's pocketbook and is lousy for the environment, but doesn't do anything to the company.)

[Jim]

For a company so many people supposedly hate and boycott, it's amazing that I've never been to a CFA that wasn't packed.  I've been to the Chicopee, MA, location several times since it opened and it's always been overflowing.  The other I go to most is in Naples, FL, and you can barely get near it at peak times.

For the Popeye's comparison: I don't see them as direct competitors in the sense that KFC is a direct competitor to Popeye's or a Zaxby's or Raising Cane's is a direct competitor to CFA.

[jwolfer]

Lots of companies expanding go last to the Northeast.. I think it has to do with cost of real estate being higher.. I would imagine California is similar

[jwolfer]

I grew up in New Jersey, and I can tell you that Chick Fil A is not the only one to avoid that sector of the US.  It took us a long time to get our first Pizza Hut.  I believe Long John Silvers still will not cross the Delaware River into the Garden State, as they always came to cities along the river, but never being part of that area across the water like in Easton.

My aunt asked an employee of the Wilson, PA store of why Long Johns won't open a store in NJ, and was told that management refuses to pay the high taxes that New Jersey implements on businesses. 

Sigh.  Seriously people.  Use the fricken internet.  Every fricken store has an online store locater.  "Management" doesn't have to pay anything anyway - it's the corporation, franchisee, or property owner that pays, and they would be paying property taxes regardless of what restaurant was on that property.  Sorry, but that's a bullshit excuse your aunt got.

https://goo.gl/maps/5B2rSTUCxyM2
https://goo.gl/maps/oFSSFgRSNSv
https://goo.gl/maps/oXPKPC3Jzrp

As far as Pizza Hut goes, I've always had one down my way in NJ.  I still remember the Book It program from when I was in elementary school, 30 long years ago.

It seems like everyone avoids Cincinnati. Except of course Chick-fil-A, which everyone hates.

So then there's a whole bunch of Chick-fil-a restaurants that get no business whatsoever, but yet they stay open??

Sorry.  "Bandit957" may hate them, but "Bandit957" is not everyone.

I would like to know why Wal Mart will not open many Super Centers in New Jersey?   You seem to find most of them clothing and other accessories, but no super market.  Wal Mart prides themselves on not just being a typical department store, but a grocery store as well and do nothing to stop at that except in New Jersey.

Obviously New Jersey has something that is able to frighten even Wal Mart and has.

Obviously, this is wrong too, but hey, why argue with someone who hasn't lived in the state in 20 years.  There are numerous supercenters throughout the state.  And the 'regular' stores have all converted to Supercenters that have everything a supermarket would have, with the only exception being produce is sold by the piece, or bagged (no scales at the registers).   It's amazing how wrong you can be about New Jersey, because you act as if time has stopped up here for 20 years.

First of all when I left New Jersey in 1990 there were no Wal Marts! Secondly, all the times I visited the state since then, I have found all the stores I patronized were clothing only and other accessories.  Even in 2012, the one in Readington, NJ and also the one on US 22 in Watchung both lacked supermarkets.

Finally, if you ever owned a Rand McNally from Wal Mart, it list all and I mean ALL of their locations.  So I can see which ones have Super Centers and which ones do not!  New Jersey lacked them while the 49 other states had them!  Plus my relatives and friends still live there and they noticed all of this too!

As far as my aunt, goes I did not say I agree with that statement considering that Taco Bell is owned by the same company and they, first in South Jersey, and then finally in North Jersey opened stores up.  You would figure one opens the other should too, but anyway that is what she was told at the time.  Yes, times have changed and maybe now it might be different.  Who knows if they opened one since! I am hoping they did as I like Long Johns.

End rant.

My brother lives in Maryland near DC. His wife is from Georgia and she bitches about not having super Walmart only a "small mart".. She said it's because of grocery store unions and County zoning

[jwolfer]

Why is it that I always get a craving for Chick-fil-A on Sunday?

[roadman65]

You know a lot has to do with local and regional issues.  Also, I did hear rumors to the Union thing being the cause of supermarket expansion.  I cannot prove its a fact, but they were in part why NJ never went Self Serve when many other states did.  The unions lobbied, for Trenton not to make the law for self service to protect the job of those already pumping gas.  It sounds reasonable, but it may not be the case for actually being why. Although many old timers seem to brag about how the unions have always prevailed in New Jersey especially during FDR, again that thinking can be only by one groups perception of what they saw at the time as well.