The chain\'s origin can be traced to the Dwarf Grill (now the Dwarf House) a restaurant opened by S. Truett Cathy, the chain\'s former chairman and CEO in 1946. The restaurant is located in Hapeville Georgia a suburb of Atlanta and is near the location of the now demolished Ford Motor Company Atlanta Assembly Plant for many years a source of many of the restaurant\'s patrons. In 1961 after 15 years in the fast food business Cathy found a pressure fryer that could cook the chicken sandwich in the same amount of time it took to cook a fast food hamburger. Following this discovery he registered the name Chick fil A Inc. The company\'s trademarked slogan We Did not Invent the Chicken Just the Chicken Sandwich refers to their flagship menu item the Chick fil A chicken sandwich. The first Chick fil A opened in 1967 in the food court of the Greenbriar Mall in a suburb of Atlanta. During the 1970s and early 1980s the chain expanded by opening new franchises in suburban malls food courts. The first freestanding franchise was opened April 16 1986 on North Druid Hills Road in Atlanta Georgia and the company began to focus more on this type of franchise than on the food court type Although it has expanded outward from its original geographic base most new restaurants are located in Southern suburban areas. In October 201 the company opened a three story 5000 square foot restaurant in Manhattan that became the largest free standing Chick fil A in the country at that time. As of 2016 theThe chain\'s origin can be traced to the Dwarf Grill (now the Dwarf House) a restaurant opened by S. Truett Cathy, the chain\'s former chairman and CEO in 1946. The restaurant is located in Hapeville Georgia a suburb of Atlanta and is near the location of the now demolished Ford Motor Company Atlanta Assembly Plant for many years a source of many of the restaurant\'s patrons. In 1961 after 15 years in the fast food business Cathy found a pressure fryer that could cook the chicken sandwich in the same amount of time it took to cook a fast food hamburger. Following this discovery he registered the name Chick fil A Inc. The company\'s trademarked slogan We Did not Invent the Chicken Just the Chicken Sandwich refers to their flagship menu item the Chick fil A chicken sandwich. The first Chick fil A opened in 1967 in the food court of the Greenbriar Mall in a suburb of Atlanta. During the 1970s and early 1980s the chain expanded by opening new franchises in suburban malls food courts. The first freestanding franchise was opened April 16 1986 on North Druid Hills Road in Atlanta Georgia and the company began to focus more on this type of franchise than on the food court type Although it has expanded outward from its original geographic base most new restaurants are located in Southern suburban areas. In October 201 the company opened a three story 5000 square foot restaurant in Manhattan that became the largest free standing Chick fil A in the country at that time. As of 2016 the chain has approximately 1950 locations. It also has 31 drive through only locations. Chick fil A also can be found at universities hospitals and airports through licensing agreements. Since 1997 the Atlanta based company has been the title sponsor of the Peach Bowl an annual college football bowl game played in Atlanta on New Year\'s Eve. Chick fil A also is a key sponsor of the SEC and the ACC of college athletics.