New York bill would require some Chick-fil-A locations to remain open on Sundays

A bill in New York would require several Chick-fil-A restaurants to remain open on Sundays, contradicting the fast food chain’s business practice of closing at the end of the week.

The bill, the Rest Stop Restaurant Act, would affect all food and beverage companies along the State Thruway and at the Port Authority in New York and New Jersey, requiring all of them to stay open seven days a week. Among these companies are seven Chick-fil-A locations.

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“While there is nothing objectionable about a fast food restaurant closing on a particular day of the week, service areas dedicated to travelers is an inappropriate location for such a restaurant,” reads the bill. “Publicly owned service areas should use their space to maximally benefit the public. Allowing for retail space to go unused one seventh of the week or more is a disservice and unnecessary inconvenience to travelers who rely on these service areas.”

Democratic state Rep. Tony Simone, one of the sponsors of the bill, argued that those who are traveling may want to eat someplace before visiting their family in the hypothetical scenario that the traveler is not a fan of their relative’s cooking. Simone also said that restaurants on the Thruways are “meant to serve New York travelers first” and that he believes it is “ridiculous” for a restaurant to be able to close on Sunday, which is “one of the busiest travel days of the week.”

The bill comes after Irish convenience store chain Applegreen took control of all the leases for Thruway Authority service areas in 2021. All 27 service areas part of this $450 million project were built with no toll or tax dollars; additionally, Chick-fil-A had already signed a 33-year contract with the Thruway prior to this bill.

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The iconic chicken sandwich restaurant, known for its Christian roots, has made it a staple of all of its 2,988 locations across the United States to close on Sundays. In addition to the seven locations it currently has on the Thruway, three more are scheduled to be built.

The Washington Examiner contacted Chick-fil-A for comment.