S Truett Cathy Chick-fil-A Founder Early Beginnings When you are hungry for chicken Chick-fil-A likely comes to mind The popular food chain is known for its juicy chicken sandwiches In fact it was the first quick-service restaurant to serve fried chicken breast sandwiches Founder S Truett Cathy spent years getting the recipe just right When he did he knew he had something special Americans agreed It was not long before Cathy’s business grew from a tiny restaurant in Georgia to a nationwide chain But Cathy was known for more than just his chicken He was a smart businessman and marketer He had a strong religious faith and gave much time and money to helping others All these things led to Cathy’s success in business and in life Samuel Truett Cathy was born on March 14 1921 in Eatonton Georgia His parents were Lilla and Joseph Samuel’s father had been a successful farmer until beetles ruined his crops No longer able to farm Joseph took a job selling insurance When Samuel was three years old his family moved to Atlanta Georgia for his father’s work
Samuel had four sisters and two brothers The family could barely survive on his father's earnings To help pay the bills the Cathys took in renters Times were tough but the family worked together to get by The Chick fil A chain has sold more than 3 billion sandwiches since its opening in 1967 Chick-fil-A THE ORIGINAL CHICKEN SANDWICH 24180
S Truett Cathy Chick-fil-A Founder Young Entrepreneur Samuel looked for a way to help support his family By age eight his work ethic had taken shape Samuel bought six glass bottles of popular soft drink Coca-Cola for 25 cents total Then he sold the bottles door-to-door for 5 cents each Samuel earned 30 cents total or a profit of 5 cents selling the six bottles of Coca-Cola Customers were willing to pay above store price for the convenience of the beverage being delivered to their doors Samuel’s idea was so popular that he set up a drink stand in his parent’s yard to help raise money for his family Soft drinks were just the beginning of Samuel’s budding business plans Soon he started selling magazines door-to-door too At age 12 he took on a newspaper route delivering the Atlanta Journal Samuel delivered newspapers for several years He was very good at signing up new readers He learned a lot about business from this job As a teenager Samuel attended Boys High School in Atlanta After graduating in 1939 he began working for the United States Civil Service He was drafted into the army but came down
Atlanta has grown significantly since Samuel's school days As of 2016 it was home to more than 30 Chick fil A locations with allergies just before his unit shipped out to the South Pacific Samuel's allergies kept him from joining his unit and he was honorably discharged in 1945 The same year Samuel's brother Ben was discharged as well The two men decided to start working together
