No, Chick-fil-A isn’t opening its restaurants on Sundays just for Black people

Chick-fil-A locations across the United States, including in airports and sports stadiums, are closed on Sundays in observance of the founder’s Christian faith. 

"Closing our business on Sunday, the Lord’s Day, is our way of honoring God and showing loyalty to Him," founder Truett Cathy wrote in his book "Eat Mor Chickin: Inspire More People."

But on June 19, an Instagram post claimed the chain restaurants would now open on Sundays "But Only for Black People!!!!"

The image shared on Instagram looks like a Chick-fil-A store with a new sign that says "Now Open Sunday (Blacks Only)." The post says company CEO Dan Cathy "announced yesterday that his fast-food restaurant will be ending its long-standing policy on Sunday closure, but only for black people." It goes on to quote Cathy as saying: "Everyone knows the best way to achieve racial reconciliation is to segregate black people and make them feel as awkward as possible. Chick-fil-A is dedicated to providing the blacks with a safe space so that they can be properly honored."

Featured Fact-check

Facebook posts

stated on November 7, 2024 in a post

“Breaking: Quaker Oats bows to backlash, brings back Aunt Jemima.”

The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) 

That’s because both the image and Instagram post were taken from a story in the Babylon Bee, which describes itself as "your trusted source for Christian news satire."

This isn’t the first time misinformation about Chick-fil-A’s weekend hours has spread on social media. In 2015, Snopes debunked a claim that it was changing its decades-old policy and opening shop on Sundays. 

The Instagram post does not make clear the photo and text are from a satirical website. We rate it Pants on Fire.