ATLANTA — The lights will be bright and the cheap food will be flowing in Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Super Bowl Sunday - but expect one popular spot in the venue to stay dark.
Chick-fil-A will continue its long-standing practice of not being open on Sundays - and that includes the location inside the 'Benz.
On its website, the company said that founder Truett Cathy made the decision to close on Sundays so that his employees could rest and worship if they choose to do so. That was in 1946, and the chicken empire he founded continues to hold to it.
But since it opened the stadium spot, the Atlanta-based chicken staple has faced many questions about why it would open in an arena known for hosting games predominantly on Sunday. And with the announcement that they would treat the biggest game of the year no differently, the question has arisen yet again.
Well, the company actually addressed the question back in 2017 when publications in Boston (New England Patriots territory) and Baton Rouge (pretty deep in New Orleans Saints territory) started spreading the joke based off of an ESPN writer's tweet.
Even Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers got in the snark ahead of a game.
It turns out that even without Sunday sales, the company still serves customers fairly regularly. In "The Chicken Wire," the company's public relations magazine, they pointed to roughly 100 events a year including Atlanta United soccer games, concerts, college football games, high school football games, band competitions and a monster truck rally.
So, on Super Bowl week, enjoy waffle fries and chicken sandwiches to your heart's content - but only on the first six days of the week.