THIS ‘N’ THAT: Chick-fil-A owner Kyle talks restaurant biz, marathons
Published 2:00 am Saturday, January 23, 2016
This week is a special week because I had the privilege to sit down and interview Matthew Kyle.
Matthew is the owner of the Athens Chick-fil-A. He is also my boss.
Matthew is originally from Decatur, where he graduated from high school. He attended college at Tennessee Temple in Chattanooga.
I am most impressed that Kyle started the first Chick-fil-A in Athens at the young age of 29. In July, the Athens Chick-fil-A will celebrate its ninth anniversary.
Matthew says he enjoys making a difference in the lives of the 50 to 60 people who work at Chick-fil-A.
“They (employees) come back years later when they are working other jobs and say how they learned a lot at Chick-fil-A,” he said.
Some of what they learn and are influenced by is how Chick-fil-A does business.
“It’s the simple things that make a good business — a smile, a good meal, kindness, clean atmosphere, great service, being friendly and being involved in the community,” Kyle said.
Speaking of being involved in the community, Chick-fil-A sponsors a race annually in April. The race starts and finishes on The Square in Athens. There will be a 5K and 10K run and a mile run for kids. There is a fee to participate. That fee covers expenses, and the rest is given to a local charity.
Matthew was a runner in high school. He recently went to Disney World with his wife, sister, and brother-in-law to run in the Dopey Challenge. The race featured a 5K, 10K, half marathon and a full marathon.
Matthew and Ann have three children — Lyndsay, 15, Landon, 11, and Addie, 5. They adopted Addie from China when she was just 19 months old. Lyndsay also works at Chick-fil-A.
In closing, we talked about S. Truett Cathy, who started the Chick-fil-A restaurant. Matthew’s favorite quote of Cathy’s is, “Why not do your best? Why not?”
I hope to hear from you soon. You can reach me at agibbs@my.athens.edu or P.O. Box 553, Athens, AL 35612-0553.
One more thing — when you finish reading this article, please call your mother and tell her you love her. I sure wish I could call mine.
