A bill making its way through the New York State Legislature aims to regulate future contracts for food concessions on the State Thruway. It also mentions the national restaurant chain Chick-Fil-A by name.
But, despite some headlines and social media posts, the bill would not force the Atlanta-based company to reverse its long-standing policy of not opening its restaurants on Sundays.
The bill introduced in the Assembly and Senate would require that future contracts for Thruway food vendors specify that rest stop concessions must be open seven days a week. The bill also sets that requirement for concessions at the Port Authority of New York-New Jersey.
The bill, as written now, would not affect the Chick-Fil-A locations that are already open on the Thruway. Those restaurants operate as part of a 33-year contract the Thruway Authority signed in 2021 with Applegreen, an Irish convenience store company. Applegreen manages leases as part of the Thruway’s ongoing $450 million project to renovate 27 rest stops across the state.
Chick-Fil-A’s leases are with Applegreen, not the Thruway itself. Applegreen’s current contract makes no mention of seven-day operations.
In addition, the bill has no impact on Chick-Fil-A or any other restaurants and businesses operating elsewhere in the state.
“We are not talking about businesses on the corner of Main Street,” said state Sen. Michelle Hinchey, a Democrat from the Hudson Valley who sponsored the bill in the state Senate. “We’re talking about the businesses on the state Thruway that are utilized as a public good.”
It makes sense, Hinchey says, because Sunday is often the busiest travel day of the week on the Thruway.
“If there is going to be a food establishment on the Thruway, they should be open on the busiest day,” Hinchey said. She noted that even in rest areas that have other food options, a Sunday closing for one can create longer lines and wait times for service at the others.
But the bill has come under…
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