They are heavily tied in with many religious groups such as Focus On The Family. Operators of chains give up a large portion of their revenue to be able to keep their store open. This isn't untypical for chains, but they take a lot more than most places, and a good portion of that goes directly to churches and religious organisations. You think it doesn't change the price of your meal, but it absolutely does.
Chick-fil-A pays for the land, the construction and the equipment. It then rents everything to the franchisee for 15% of the restaurant's sales plus 50% of the pretax profit remaining.
That is way more than any other fast food chain, and this is directly why their prices are so much higher than anywhere else. This money that gets donated comes directly from your overpriced meal. Yes the food kicks ass, but the prices are obscene for the amount of food you get. On top of that about 40% of the operators are religious and many have their own tie ins with churches and other orgs. Chick-Fil-A has been sued many times by people claiming discrimination brought upon them because they weren't Christian. Muslim workers have been unjustly fired, and operators have been told to GTFO because they wouldn't attend religious conventions. This is all information you can find on the internet.
It is the only national fast-food chain that closes on Sunday so operators can go to church and spend time with their families; franchisees who don't go along with the rule risk having their contracts terminated. Company meetings and retreats include prayers, and the company encourages franchisees to market their restaurants through church groups.
A guy who rented a franchise sued them because his location was mysteriously revoked from him a few months after he had refused to pray when he attended a one of the mandatory company meeting.
