Unwritten Rules To Know Before Visiting Chick-Fil-A

Chick-fil-A got its start in the state of Georgia, and as a former Georgia resident and chicken enjoyer, I've been eating at Chick-fil-A for over half of my life. It was a social destination in high school, the perfect comfort food meal while studying for finals in college, and the meal I still opt for in airports and train stations when I'm on the go. All that being said, I know a thing or two about how to navigate this chicken-focused fast food chain, which is why I'm covering the most important unwritten rules you need to know before visiting Chick-fil-A.

Some of these rules may be fairly obvious if you frequent fast food joints, while others are more specific to Chick-fil-A's way of doing things. Regardless, though, these rules will help ensure you get the best possible meal next time you're there (and don't annoy any of the staff in the process). Whether you're going through the Chick-fil-A drive-thru to get a quick meal on your way home from work or you're taking your kids to a location with a playground to let them burn off some steam after work, these rules will guarantee that your next trip to Chick-fil-A will be a success.

If there's one thing you should know about the way Chick-fil-A operates, it's the fact that the restaurant is not open on Sundays. No, it's not just your local Chick-fil-A that closes one day a week — it's actually a company-wide policy. Chick-fil-A's founder, S. Truett Cathy, knew how difficult a restaurant schedule was, since he had worked at places that were open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Therefore, he wanted to make sure his employees had at least one day off a week to connect with family and friends, as well as to take part in religious services if they were interested. This policy has been in place since Cathy first opened the doors of his first restaurant.

The reality of being a Chick-fil-A fan is that almost every time you seem to crave the restaurant's food, it's on a Sunday. Unfortunately, though, you'll just have to wait until the next day to satisfy your chicken cravings. Although this policy can be annoying for customers who just want to grab a quick meal, it's undoubtedly nice for the employees who get a guaranteed weekend day off every week — something that's not always so common in the restaurant industry.

Are you visiting Chick-fil-A for the first time? It's always exciting to get a taste of some new, popular kind of fast food you've never had before. But ordering at any fast food joint can be tricky if you're not already familiar with some of its menu items. Our advice? If you're brand new to the brand, you don't need to overcomplicate things. Sticking with the simplest option on the menu might be the way to go. In this case, that's Chick-fil-A's Original Chicken Sandwich. This no-fuss sandwich is about as simple as it gets: a breaded chicken patty on a buttery bun with some crisp, tangy pickle chips. The acidity from the pickles joins forces with the fattiness from the chicken — a match made in heaven. Of course, if you love spicy food, you can order the spicy version of the same dish.

Aiming for simplicity gives you the best idea of what Chick-fil-A does well. At this restaurant, it's really about the chicken itself, not a bunch of random extras and add-ons. Once you get a taste of the basics, you can decide if you want to order a deluxe version of your sandwich or opt for something else on the menu completely.

One thing you should know about Chick-fil-A is that the sandwiches don't come with sauce already on them. You either have to eat them without any sauce at all (which is actually better than you might imagine, since the chain's chicken is so juicy) or order your sauce on the side and add it to the sandwich yourself. If you love sauces — or want to taste all the different Chick-fil-A sauces available — you'll have to remember to ask for them with your order. But it's an unwritten rule to ask for all of these sauces at the same time, instead of making an employee go back and forth to add different sauce varieties to your bag.

We know it can be difficult to decide what you want to order, even on the sauce front, and you may forget to add a sauce to your order from time to time. But by already having an idea in your head of what sauces you want to order with your meal, you can save a Chick-fil-A staff member a lot of hassle trying to fill your bag with random, additional sauces at the last minute. Pick what you want to dip your fries or sandwich into, and ask for it when you order the rest of your meal.

When you're going to a fast food restaurant, you probably expect the food to be, well, fast. And if you opt for the drive-thru, there's a good chance it's because you're on the go and don't want to spend too long sitting around the actual restaurant. Therefore, it can be really frustrating when you have to wait a long time in the drive-thru just to order and get your food. Unfortunately, though, that can sometimes be the case when you go to Chick-fil-A. The chain restaurant is known for having the longest drive-thru wait times, which come in at around 8.5 minutes on average. Customers have taken to Reddit to complain about the problem, with one poster writing that they often wait over 10 minutes for a simple sandwich-and-fries order.

These wait times are obviously going to be a lot worse during peak hours, although some Chick-fil-A customers have posted on Reddit that they've had to wait for extended periods of time even late at night. If you want to avoid sitting there forever, go into the restaurant to pick up your food and avoid the drive-thru altogether. Better yet, order online ahead of time and pick it up once it's ready.

You already know that wait times at Chick-fil-A can get pretty long, especially if you're ordering from the drive-thru. This is why it's so important to have a good idea of what you're going to order ahead of time. We know — this can be tricky if you don't go to Chick-fil-A very often and therefore don't have a good sense of all of your different options on the menu. But in this case, it's a good idea to look for the menu online before it's your turn to place your order. This is especially important in the drive-thru because at some locations, employees might stand outside and walk up to cars to take peoples' orders. In this case, you might not actually get a chance to look at the menu board, so if you don't already know what you want, you could seriously slow down the line.

Need some extra time to look over the menu, and don't want to do it on your phone? That's totally understandable. If it looks like the drive-thru at your local Chick-fil-A is busy, it may be a better idea to head inside the restaurant instead. That way, you can stand back and look at the menu board until you're sure of what you want. At that point, you can get in line and place your order.

Just like any fast food restaurant, Chick-fil-A has standardized menu options that you can choose to customize if you want to make minor changes. However, so as not to slow down the line even more (especially when it's busy), you'll want to keep those customizations to a minimum. You can ask for the staff to leave off the pickles, for example, but it's better not to combine that with a lot of other requests.

Of course, this is important to keep other customers from waiting too long and ensure that the staff isn't too annoyed with your order. But it also helps you stay true to the ethos of Chick-fil-A's menu offerings. Generally speaking, the fast food chain does really simple dishes well. By asking for a bunch of additions and changes, you might be adulterating what your order is actually meant to taste like. Therefore, make your few changes if you must, but keep in mind that you're not ordering a customized coffee at Starbucks.

You may have noticed that if you thank a Chick-fil-A employee, they generally won't respond with a standard "thank you." Instead, they're more likely to respond with "my pleasure." The first time you hear it at the fast food chain, you might not think anything of it, but it seems like a pattern after you've heard it several times. That's because Chick-fil-A employees are encouraged to use this exact phrase. The founder of the company believed that this phrase would make customers feel welcomed and cared for, and so it became standard practice.

Unfortunately, some customers view it as a game to see how many times they can get employees to respond with "my pleasure." They'll thank them excessively, knowing that they're expected to use the phrase each time. Clearly, this is rude, and you're likely just making a staff member's day worse. Of course, that doesn't mean you can't thank the staff at all while you're at Chick-fil-A — just do it like a normal person, and don't try to annoy anyone by repeating your thanks over and over again. Chances are, the staff has experienced this disrespectful treatment before, and it just makes you look like a bit of a jerk.

There are plenty of fast food restaurants that offer a wide array of meal options. Jack in the Box, for instance, is known for just how many different types of dishes it offers. A spot like McDonald's gives customers the choice of three different kinds of protein in its sandwiches (in the form of beef, chicken, and fish — and don't even get us started on the Land, Air, and Sea Burger). But just looking at the name "Chick-fil-A" should tell you that you'll have a different experience at this joint. It's not just that the chain specializes in chicken — in reality, the only kind of meat you can get at the chain is chicken.

If you go into a Chick-fil-A wanting to order a burger like you might at other fast food restaurants, you're going to be disappointed. The benefit of Chick-fil-A specializing in chicken and chicken alone, though, is the fact that it does this one thing really well. It's not the kind of place where you find a variety of mediocre dishes. Instead, Chick-fil-A knows how to stay in its lane, which is why its chicken tastes so good.

In 2025, a Chick-fil-A in Ohio instituted a new rule that some find controversial. At this Chick-fil-A location, customers under 18 must be accompanied by a chaperone at least 21 years old. This rule was put in place to create a better environment for families, according to the franchise. Some commenters on Facebook said that the decision to disallow minor customers to visit Chick-fil-A alone was "sad." As someone who spent a lot of time hanging out with friends at the Chick-fil-A during my high school years, I can totally understand this sentiment. However, if you've ever been in a fast food restaurant with a bunch of rowdy teenagers, the rule likely doesn't sound unreasonable either.

Now, just to be clear, this isn't a chain-wide policy. This likely isn't a rule at your local Chick-fil-A (unless you live close to this specific location in Ohio). However, it's an indication that you should probably accompany your kids to Chick-fil-A if they're younger or you worry that they may not behave appropriately. Of course, that's going to differ for every child, but when in doubt, it's probably best to tag along. After all, it's not the Chick-fil-A staff's job to babysit your kids.

Have you ever gotten excited about a fast food meal only to realize that the restaurant was actually closed once you drove up to it? That's a big bummer when you have a specific meal in mind and then can't get it. This is why it's important to check the hours of your local Chick-fil-A before visiting, considering that not every location has the same hours. All locations are open from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. from Monday to Saturday. However, some stores stay open later to help you satisfy your late-night cravings. If you want Chick-fil-A after 9 p.m., check online to make sure your nearest location doesn't shut down too early.

So, when is Chick-fil-A definitely not open? All of the company's stores are closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, but you'll want to confirm with your local Chick-fil-A for other holidays — hours can vary by location. This is also information you can check within the Chick-fil-A app if you already have it installed on your phone.

Wondering what else you can do with Chick-fil-A's app? Well, like basically all fast food restaurants these days, the app allows you to conveniently place your order, so you don't have to order at the drive-thru. But there's another important function of the app, particularly if you have kids: It can tell you which Chick-fil-A locations have playgrounds for kids. Just search for locations in the app, decide what radius you want to look within, and ensure that you check the box next to "playground" where it says "show results with."

A trip to Chick-fil-A can be a fun option when you're looking for a fun activity to do with your little ones. And if the location you're going to has a playground attached, then you can not only feed them but also give them some time to blow off steam after they eat. This can be an especially fun activity in the winter, when it may be too cold for children to play outside. So, next time you're looking for an easy family-friendly activity, take a closer look at the Chick-fil-A app to find out which locations near you have a playground.