I've never been to a Chick-fil-A. But people love the place. In fact, according to surveys, Chick-fil-A is the most popular fast-food restaurant in America, and has been for a long time. But the company has irritated progressives over the years because of its owners' Baptist convictions, including their once vocal opposition to same-sex marriage. New York Mayor Bill DeBlasio at one point urged city residents to boycott the chain. The controversies have died down–mostly, I think, because Chick-fil-A has backed off some of its less popular public policy stands.
A bill currently under consideration in the NYS Legislature makes clear that progressive irritation with Chick-fil-A hasn't gone away entirely. Chick-fil-A restaurants close on Sundays for religious reasons, including seven Chick-fil-A franchises at rest stops on the NYS Thruway. The bill, sponsored by progressive Assembly Member Tony Simone, would put an end to Chick-fil-A on the Thruway, at least with respect to future concessions. Going forward, contracts for rest-stop concessions would require vendors to open seven days a week.
Simone argues that hungry drivers are on the Thruway every day of the week and need places to stop and eat. That makes sense. On the surface, the bill would seem to be a classic, "neutral and generally applicable" law that wouldn't cause problems under the Free Exercise Clause. Any effect on businesses like Chick-fil-A that close one day a week for religious reasons would be incidental and constitutionally unobjectionable.
