How Chick-fil-A grew from a small Southern diner to the third-largest restaurant chain in the US
Chick-fil-A has come a long way since opening as a small roadside diner in Georgia in 1946.
Irene Jiang / Business Insider In 1946, Chick-fil-A founder S.
Truett Cathy opened the Dwarf Grill in Hapeville, Georgia.
In 1967, Cathy opened the first Chick-fil-A and invented the restaurant's iconic chicken sandwich.
Chick-fil-A is now the third-largest restaurant chain in the US.
Eighty years after Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy opened his first restaurant, Chick-fil-A is now the third-largest restaurant brand in the country.
The family-owned chain has since grown to more than 3,200 US restaurants and generated nearly $24 billion in US systemwide sales in 2025, trailing only McDonald’s and Starbucks, per Technomic's Top 500 chains report .
The chicken chain's rise has not been without controversy.
Chick-fil-A faced widespread backlash in 2012 after Cathy's son Dan, then the company’s CEO, publicly opposed same-sex marriage, while the company and its foundation were criticized for donations to organizations with anti-LGBTQ+ positions.
This week, current CEO Andrew Cathy declined to directly address the company’s history or state its position on LGBTQ+ equality in an interview with NBC , instead saying Chick-fil-A is focused on hospitality and welcoming everyone who comes through its doors.
Here’s how Chick-fil-A grew from a small Southern diner into a fast-food powerhouse.
Chick-fil-A's origin story began when Truett Cathy opened the Dwarf Grill in Hapeville, Georgia, in 1946.
Chick-fil-A The small roadside diner was later renamed when it became one of the chain's "Dwarf Houses." The original location previously served as one of 12 Chick-fil-A locations, offering modern favorites and items from the original restaurant's "blue menu." The first official Chick-fil-A locations were located in shopping malls.
Chick-fil-A The first restaurant to bear the name Chick-fil-A opened in the Greenbriar Mall in Atlanta in 1967.
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