Because his parents struggled financially during the Great Depression, Samuel Truett Cathy acquired a habit of hard work and a strong entrepreneurial spirit to found the successful Chick-fil-A fast food chain. Despite his growing success in business, Cathy stayed true to his faith and realized the importance of giving back.
Cathy was one of seven children born to a poor family in Eatonton, Georgia in 1921. When his father lost the family farm, the family relocated to Atlanta, where Cathy’s father struggled as an insurance salesman. His mother became the breadwinner of the family by opening up the family’s home to travelers and operating a boarding house.
Inspired by his mother’s strong work ethic, Cathy started his first business at the age of 8: He bought a six-pack of Coke for 25 cents and sold each can for 5 cents apiece. He then operated a newspaper and magazine route until he turned 18.
At 18, Cathy was drafted to serve in World War II. After six years in the service, he knew he wanted to launch his own business. He sold his car, and he and his brother Ben put all of their money ($4,000) together to invest in a business. With their money and a bank loan that together totaled just over $10,000, they established a new eatery in 1946 called the Dwarf Grill in Hapeville, Georgia.
The restaurant that was located near an airport was an instant hit even though it didn’t even sell chicken at first because it took too long to cook. It was open 24 hours a day but closed on Sundays, which continues with the Chick-fil-A franchise today. “I was not so committed to financial success that I was willing to abandon my principles and priorities,” Cathy wrote in his book “Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People.”
“One of the most visible examples of this is our decision to close on Sunday. Our decision to close on Sunday was our way of honoring God and of directing our attention to things that mattered more than our business.”
A Sandwich Is Born
While he was running the two restaurants, he would sometimes see workers from a nearby Ford automotive plant put chicken and biscuits together to make a sandwich. He had an idea: a fast-food chicken sandwich.
Cathy experimented with different ways to quickly cook chicken. He recalled in his childhood that his mother would cook fried chicken in a cast iron pan. Cathy finally mastered his sandwich recipe by pressure cooking a boneless chicken breast, then serving it on a buttered bun with pickles. He called his creation “Chick-fil-A,” and started selling the sandwich in other restaurants.
Not everything went well. Cathy struggled with the lack of consistency with his sandwiches, since other restaurants made them differently. His sister suggested that he sell his sandwiches at the local mall. Cathy opened his first Chick-fil-A in 1967 in the Greenbriar Mall in Atlanta, and it took off. In 1986, the company opened up its first freestanding restaurant.
Even with his success, Cathy strictly adhered to his strong Christian values: He donated 10 percent of his earnings to charities his entire life; his stores closed on Sundays despite it being one of the busiest days of the week for fast food diners. For over 50 years, Cathy spent the day teaching Sunday school.
Cathy found ways he could help others in his employ. After giving an employee some extra cash to pay for his college education, Cathy started a scholarship program to help employees at Chick-fil-A attend college.
And after welcoming a child into his home, Cathy and his wife went on to have 150 foster children in their own. The couple founded the Win-Shape Foundation in 1984 that provides foster homes for children and hosts summer camps for disadvantaged youth.
With his strong family values, Cathy kept the company privately owned (with no intentions to ever go public), and has involved several family members in its operations and management. Cathy stayed involved in the business until he passed away in 2014 at age 93. Since his death, two of his sons and a grandson have held senior management roles in the corporation.
