Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day: Tyler Restaurants Packed With Supporters

The long lines today at Chick-fil-A in Tyler is the scene occurring across the country as people are showing up in droves to support the restaurant after the company was criticized for an executive’s comments about gay marriage.

Traffic is backed up on South Broadway in Tyler as people waited their turn to patronize the restaurant on what is being called “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.” The line inside the store was pushed outside and in front of the building, as shown above. There were also at least another 60 cars waiting for the drive-thru, as the line wrapped out onto South Broadway Avenue and back to the intersection of Broadway and Chimney Rock.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Baptist minister, declared Wednesday national “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.”

Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy told the Baptist Press last month that the Atlanta-based company was “guilty as charged” for backing “the biblical definition of a family.” That unleashed a torrent of criticism from gay rights groups and others, who have called for boycotts and efforts to block the chain from opening new stores.

Opponents of the company’s stance are planning “Kiss Mor Chiks” for Friday, when they are encouraging people of the same sex to show up at Chick-fil-A restaurants around the country and kiss each other.