Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day

It's today.

See the Christian Post, "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day: Half a Million to Show Up at Restaurants."

Bonus: Jeez, half a million! Chick-fil-A's not hurting for more customers, despite what the hate-addled progressives say. See Business Week, "Hidden Chick-fil-A Billionaires Hatched as Value Soars":

The customers chickfila gained will give 'em extra business short term. The ones they lost will pass 'em by forever. bit.ly/NyEdvI
— J. Casper (@repsac3) July 28, 2012

Chick-fil-A generated $492 million in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization on revenue of $1.12 billion in 2011, PrivCo said. It added that the company’s 44 percent Ebitda margin was “virtually unheard of in the restaurant industry.”

The chain has the biggest sales per unit in fast-food, according to QSR Magazine. In 2011, the company generated gross sales of $2.9 million per location, outpacing the average unit sales of runner-up McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) (MCD) by $400,000, the magazine said in its August 2012 issue.

PrivCo said it valued Chick-fil-A at $4.5 billion using peer multiples of Oak Brook, Illinois-based McDonald’s, Dublin, Ohio-based Wendy’s Co. (WEN) (WEN) and closely held Wichita, Kansas-based Wil-Ken Enterprises Inc., which operates Popeye’s Chicken and Biscuits restaurants. The calculation factored in the company’s 3-year annual growth rate and Ebitda margins, the report said.

The chicken chain has a value of at least $4.3 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, based on the average enterprise value-to-Ebitda and price-to-earnings multiples of four publicly traded peers: McDonald’s, Wendy’s, San Diego-based Jack In the Box Inc. (JACK) (JACK) and Louisville, Kentucky-based Yum! Brands Inc. (YUM) (YUM), the owner of the KFC and Taco Bell brands.

“It is a very impressive business story,” said Sam Hamadeh, CEO of PrivCo, in a telephone interview. “Whatever people think of the politics, when you look at how we quantify the amount of money they are forgoing every year by being closed on Sundays, you have to respect that.”

Truett Cathy keeps Chick-fil-A stores closed on Sundays as “a testament to his faith in God,” according to the company’s website. Jerry Johnston, a spokesman for the company, didn’t return a phone call seeking comment.

It's a huge and growing business, and while it may lose a few fascists --- people like Walter James Casper III --- it's clearly a phenomenally successful concern with a huge constituency of people of good faith and decency.

PREVIOUSLY: "Atheist for #LGBT Rights Says Chick-fil-A 'Harms Mor Gays'."