Chick-fil-A's 2013 handover to Dan Cathy grew the family chain fourfold in a decade

In 2013, S. Truett Cathy, the 92-year-old founder of Chick-fil-A, retired as chairman and CEO and handed both roles to his son Dan, who had worked in the business since childhood and served as president and chief operating officer. The company stayed private, family-owned, and closed on Sundays — the founder's non-negotiables.

Dan Cathy kept the formula but scaled it: urban formats, new menu items, and aggressive unit growth beyond the Southeast. Under his leadership the chain reached $10.5 billion in system sales in 2018, passing Wendy's, Burger King, Taco Bell, and Subway to become the third-largest US restaurant chain behind only McDonald's and Starbucks.

Growth rested on an unusual model: franchise 'operators' put up just $10,000, are hand-picked, and run one restaurant each — producing the industry's highest per-unit volumes while the company kept ownership of the real estate and brand.

In November 2021 the handover repeated: Dan's son Andrew Cathy became the third CEO in company history, with Dan staying as chairman. Systemwide sales hit $18.8 billion in 2022 and $21.6 billion in 2023, with average unit volumes of $9.4 million.

System sales grew from about $5B in 2013 to $10.5B by 2018 — No.3 US chain behind McDonald's and Starbucks — and $21.6B by 2023.

Dan Cathy had run operations for years before the title changed, so the handover cost no momentum.

The family kept the founder's differentiators — Sunday closing, operator model — instead of professionalizing them away.

Low operator entry cost plus single-unit focus produced best-in-industry per-store economics.

The next succession was rehearsed early: Andrew Cathy was groomed and named CEO in 2021 without drama.

A planned, unhurried handover to a successor who already runs the operation beats an emergency succession — continuity of values plus professional execution compounds.

Chick-fil-A remains family-owned and closed on Sundays, now under third-generation CEO Andrew Cathy. By 2023 it posted $21.6 billion in systemwide sales — up 15% in one year — and began its first sustained international push into the UK and Asia, with a $1 billion overseas investment plan announced for the decade.