Letter from Chick-fil-a

Growing up in the Southwest one of the restaurant chains which has a special place in my gullet is Chick-Fil-A.

Their chicken nuggets are the best. They’re so tender, so spicy, so…. good.

But while here in Northern California we have a great multiplicity of fast-food burgers (Carl’s Junior {Junior What Exactly?} , In-and-Out, and the kick-ass Clarke’s Charcoal Broiler) - we have BUT ONLY 1 CHICK-FIL-A.

I kid you not. San Francisco is certainly one of the 5 greatest cities in the American mainland and not a one to be found in the city by the bay.

In the Silicon Valley we generate the intellectual myth that propels the American economy’s new directions - but can we get a freakin’ 12 pack of nuggets while we consider the next 200 lines of code to resurrect the dead corpse of the new economy?

In Foster City and South San Francisco they are sequencing DNA, but there is no CFA!

The only CFA in NoCal is in a tiny little dot along the highway called Fairfield. Located off of I80 (the route from the Bay to Tahoe) Fairfield, a modest 90 minute drive, is the closest CFA in the area.

How can this be? Surely the great provinces of consumer capability would make it attractive for CFA to have a store or two hereabouts? I mean, look, if people can pay 250K for an 800sq. foot condo, surely they’re not going to make a lot of noise about a 7 dollar valu-pak of chicken nuggets, right?

I know CFA is a ‘family values’ kinda store (think red state) and I really respect their no work on Sunday policy - even if you’re not religious i like the idea of the working class being socially-promoted (social morality trough arbeid - sounds like a Stalinist propaganda poster) to spend time at home (or have time for a second job to make ends meet - thanks tax cuts!).

This led me to think, perhaps they hate California for some reason, or perhaps the land use cost is too high for the franchise formulate to work out…..

…but I heard from a friend in Orange County that they have many CFAs. What? It seems CFA doesn’t want to expand in the Bay Area – exclusively!

My little chicken tender heart was crushed.

I wrote an email to CFA corporate and they responded (thank you very much, no sarcasm intended) to me and said all their expansions are in LA and Long Beach!

Yet again they expand to the south, but brush us Bay Areans off like….waterlogged, foggy second-class citizens.

As consolation CFA sent me this nice response - with attached coupon.

Incidentally, Audrey has great handwriting. I wonder if CFA corporate hired her for that purpose. Note the hand-written quality, a nice touch.

So I’m stymied, what am I to do? Try to get a franchise license to CFA – I don’t much care for the restaurant business though.

I thought about the matter at some length and reflected upon the response I got from Senator Boxer lo these many months ago. My next step was to email Governor Schwarzenegger.

And this is what I said…

Note, I’m presenting this form unedited. I submitted this by web-form so I wrote off the cuff and didn’t put adequate time into proofreading. I hope the Governor’s functionaries are not stymied.

Dear Mr. Governor (or responding party),

I have a request, as governor you help stimulate the expansion of business for the betterment of all Californians. Being, like yourself and many other Californians, I moved here from elsewhere (Texas, exactly) and came to love the tasty restaurant known as Chick-Fil-A (CFA). CFA offers a fresh chicken product that tastes oh-so-good. If you’ve not been recently, hope in the car (er, Humvee) and take the wife and kids - it’s darn tasty.

I myself like the 12 pack nugget combo - I think you would too.

Now here’s the part where you can help. You see there are dozens and dozens of CFAs in Southern California / LA-Region, but there is only ONE within 200 miles of San Francisco.

Surely with the high tech economy of the Silicon Valley and / or the greatest big city in the world, San Francisco, Bay Areans deserve a tasty chicken meal at an affordable price! I have emailed their corporate divisions and have been told that while there are many further expansions planned in LA and vicinity, us folks by the bay must go without.

Could you please ask them to help get a franchise going in Palo Alto, Mountain View, SF, San Jose, or anywhere within a 30 minute drive from either SF or SJ.

I love those tasty chicken bits.

Respectfully,

Steven Harms

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