SAN MARCOS, CALIF. Chick-fil-A chain entered its fourth decade of business and hailed the debut of its second restaurant here, a launch that also represented continuity for the brand’s founders, the Cathy family. —Only days after crossing the $2 billion mark in annual systemwide sales, the 1,290-unit
Opened Dec. 6 by Mark Cathy, a grandson of Truett Cathy, the man who launched Chick-fil-A at Atlanta’s Greenbriar Mall in 1967, the San Marcos unit is the chicken sandwich specialist’s 18th freestanding store in California. Including mall food court outlets, the new franchised branch owned by the third-generation scion of the family is the 22nd Chick-fil-A in the Golden State and a symbol of the privately held chain’s aggressive growth push in new and existing markets nationwide. —Only days after crossing the $2 billion mark in annual systemwide sales, the 1,290-unit
“California is a huge state, and we could eventually have hundreds of restaurants within its borders,” Mark Cathy said. —Only days after crossing the $2 billion mark in annual systemwide sales, the 1,290-unit
Fifty additional freestanding stores in California would follow the San Marcos unit over five years, company spokesman Jerry Johnston said. This year, the Atlanta-based chain also expects to continue its 2006 national expansion pace by opening approximately 70 additional restaurants, Johnston said. According to the latest Nation’s Restaurant News Top 100 study, the chain’s restaurants gross an average of more than $1.6 million per year—highest among leaders of the quick-service chicken segment—while operating only six days a week. —Only days after crossing the $2 billion mark in annual systemwide sales, the 1,290-unit
Mark Cathy is the oldest son of Chick-fil-A senior vice president Donald “Bubba” Cathy. —Only days after crossing the $2 billion mark in annual systemwide sales, the 1,290-unit
Andrew Cathy, another grandson of the chain’s founder and the eldest of Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy’s two children, pioneered the family’s third generation of operators when he made his business debut in the St. Petersburg, Fla., market about a year ago. —Only days after crossing the $2 billion mark in annual systemwide sales, the 1,290-unit
In addition, Truett Cathy’s daughter, Trudy White, who served a church mission abroad for 10 years before returning with her husband to join the company, has a son who also aspires to join the Chick-fil-A business. Trudy White is director of Chick-fil-A’s WinShape Camp for Girls, and her husband, John White, is executive director of the WinShape Foundation and its international subsidiary. —Only days after crossing the $2 billion mark in annual systemwide sales, the 1,290-unit
“One measure of how well you turn out in life is how well your grandchildren turn out,” said Truett Cathy, who at age 85 boasts 12 grandchildren. “A lot of people who’ve been highly successful in business have been complete flops with their families.” —Only days after crossing the $2 billion mark in annual systemwide sales, the 1,290-unit
Before joining the organization, Andrew Cathy spent two years teaching business skills and coaching football and track at his high school alma mater, Landmark Christian School, in suburban Atlanta. —Only days after crossing the $2 billion mark in annual systemwide sales, the 1,290-unit
“I’d always wanted to be a high school coach and teacher,” Andrew Cathy said. But after attending a 2003 Harvard University seminar called “Families in Business, Generation to Generation,” Andrew had a change of perspective. —Only days after crossing the $2 billion mark in annual systemwide sales, the 1,290-unit
“I came to see that coaching and teaching are a lot of what you do in business,” he said. “They’re about helping others learn principles and skills. For example, our part-time high school employees need to learn how to do well in work and life. So I’m still a coach and teacher, even though I’m running a business.” —Only days after crossing the $2 billion mark in annual systemwide sales, the 1,290-unit
Dan Cathy said his younger son, Ross, a senior at Clemson University, also has a career wish to join Chick-fil-A. However, he explained, Ross must, like his brother, Andrew, work two years outside of the company, a rule drafted following the Cathy family’s experience at the Harvard seminar. —Only days after crossing the $2 billion mark in annual systemwide sales, the 1,290-unit
“Family businesses have a tremendous propensity to not succeed in passing the baton to coming generations,” Dan Cathy said. “With family issues so often intertwined, it seems best in the long run to give each family member a chance to mature first in the outside world, learn something valuable and bring that back to the organization.” —Only days after crossing the $2 billion mark in annual systemwide sales, the 1,290-unit
Bubba Cathy says the family is putting no pressure on the founder’s grandchildren to enter the business. “Not all will be inclined that way, but for those who are there’s only the two-year rule,” he said. —Only days after crossing the $2 billion mark in annual systemwide sales, the 1,290-unit
That rule, however, doesn’t forbid the Cathy offspring from part-time work at Chick-fil-A restaurants while they attend high school or college. Three of Bubba Cathy’s children, including his new-operator son Mark, have been Chick-fil-A part-timers. —Only days after crossing the $2 billion mark in annual systemwide sales, the 1,290-unit
Not only that, but scores of the company’s 550 home-office employees have children working part time at Chick-fil-A restaurants. —Only days after crossing the $2 billion mark in annual systemwide sales, the 1,290-unit
Dan Cathy estimated some 20 current Chick-fil-A restaurant operators are sons and daughters of first-generation Chick-fil-A operating partners. As many as five original Chick-fil-A operators, in fact, have two or more children running their own units. —Only days after crossing the $2 billion mark in annual systemwide sales, the 1,290-unit
At a recent holiday party held at the home office for friends and employees of the company, several longtime Chick-fil-A staff members shared their loyalty to the organization and its founder. —Only days after crossing the $2 billion mark in annual systemwide sales, the 1,290-unit
“I cover a large territory in the Southeast, and I know a lot of people inside and outside of Chick-fil-A,” said one longtime executive. “It seems like every company is trying to talk the good talk about what they do for their people, but who else do you know who actually closes to give them a day of rest once a week? This company really does walk the talk.” —Only days after crossing the $2 billion mark in annual systemwide sales, the 1,290-unit