Seven years after Chick-fil-A changed its charitable giving strategy following criticism over donations to conservative Christian groups seen as anti-LGBTQ+, CEO Andrew Cathy was asked on TODAY about the company’s official position on equal rights. “We’re focused on hospitality, serving gre at-tasting food, and great service,” Cathy told Craig Melvin on Oct. 14 as part of a conversation for the NBC News series “Business in America.” Watch the extended cut of the interview here. The fast-food chain came under fire in 2012 when Andrew’s Cathy’s father, Dan Cathy, publicly stated the company was against same-sex marriage. Public documents also revealed donations from Chick-fil-A to groups seen as opposing gay marriage or against gay rights, which drew backlash and protests in some parts of the country. Craig asked Andrew Cathy what he would say to those protesters today. “Well, for anybody that hasn’t tried us, we’d love for you to come try and have our great-tasting food and the hospitality that we’re known for,” Cathy said. “I think that everybody that will be willing to walk in the door, they’ll see that they’re welcome to come eat with us. We’d love to give them a great-tasting sandwich and give them great hospitality.” Following the scrutiny of its donations, the company announced in 2019 that it would focus its charitable giving only on organizations working in education, homelessness and hunger. Craig said to Cathy that it appeared he did not want to talk about that chapter of the company’s history. “We’re focused on serving everybody that comes in to eat with us,” Cathy said. As part of their wide-ranging conversation, they also spoke about the origins of the nation’s third-biggest fast-food chain, the company’s policy of remaining closed on Sundays, the role of the family’s Christian faith in their business approach, Chick-fil-A’s classic chicken sandwich and more. Cathy, who has been the CEO for five years, is the third member of his family to serve in the role for the privately held, family-owned company. His grandfather, S. Truett Cathy, founded the company in 1946 and was succeeded as CEO by Dan Cathy. A restaurant S. Truett Cathy began as the tiny Dwarf Grill near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport now boasts nearly $24 billion in sales across its roughly 2,900 locations. It also has expanded to Canada, the United Kingdom and Singapore in recent years. The company opens about 150 restaurants a year and receives about 150,000 applications from people who want to open a franchise, according to Cathy. S. Truett Cathy perfected the recipe for the chain’s signature chicken sandwich in 1967, and it’s still used today. Another holdover from the early days is the restaurants being closed on Sundays. “So it was open 24 hours a day, six days a week, and it was very common back in the 1940s that a lot of places were closed on Sunday,” Cathy said. “And so they wanted to do that. They wanted to have a chance to take a break — go to church, and for others just to take some rest.” “And it’s one of things we continue today,” he added. “And it does give team members an opportunity to know that hey, at least one day on the weekend I’m not going to have to go to work, which is great. And so we feel like it’s been an attractive thing for them, so they can at least have that one day to go do what they want to do.” The company has never crunched the numbers of how much money Chick-fil-A is leaving on the table by not being open on Sundays. “I never have,” Cathy said. “And that’s being truthfully honest with you, I never have because it’s never something that we’re entertaining. It’s just too important for us. And we’re not trying to scrape out every penny that we possibly can, and that’s one of the things about being a private business and a family business is we can make those types of investments because we know it means so much to our team members.” The family’s Christian faith, which came under scrutiny during the protests involving the LGBTQ community, also continues to guide the company’s principles. “It’s our anchor in the sense of what our corporate purpose states, that we’re in business to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that’s entrusted to us, and have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A,” Cathy said. The CEO also touched on two hot-button issues among fast food chains right now: the cost of their menu in an economy where many people are struggling, and the increased use of GLP-1 drugs for weight loss. Cathy said Chick-fil-A has not changed its portion sizes while charging the same amount in any type of “shrinkflation” move. “We’re not going to do that,” he said. “We’re not going to shrink product and those sort of things. These are the portions and experiences that people are used to. We’re going to continue to provide that great product.” When it comes to the effect of more widespread use of GLP-1 drugs, Cathy said the main difference he’s seen is a high demand for protein. “We actually have over 28 items that have over 25 grams of protein,” he said. As for the future, Cathy said the company has looked into using artificial intelligence in some back-of-the-room areas but remains focused on human-to-human hospitality. Chick-fil-A has also researched plant-based offerings. It tested a cauliflower sandwich, but Cathy said the “demand was not great.” “We’ll put that aside, and we’ll try to find some other things,” he said. “If people stop eating chicken at some point in the future, then I hope we’ve had the foresight to think what’s coming, and listen, and see what customers want.” There’s also the question of whether one of Cathy’s four children will one day take the torch from him in running the family business. Cathy worked as a teacher and coach before deciding to follow in his own father’s footsteps. “That’ll be a decision they have to make,” Cathy said about his children. “And that was, I’d say, one of the things I’m most grateful about my parents. They said, ‘Hey, you’ve got to do what you feel like God’s calling you to do and your passion and interest in life.’ “I’ll not put pressure on them. More than anything I want them to find what they’re passionate about and go after it.” This story first appeared on TODAY.com. 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