This story has been updated with details about select cities offering one of the below items.
Chick-fil-A has staked its claim as one of the most beloved fast food chains in America, but there have been a few times in history when the venerable metro Atlanta chain has had to break some hearts.
Namely, when the restaurant had to bid adieu to some menu gems.
Staples like the Chick-fil-A Sandwich, waffle fries and the chicken nuggets aren’t going anywhere. However, there are a number of other favorites that were removed from Chick-fil-A menus across the country between 2016 and 2021.
"We don't want folks to think we're walking away from classic Chick-fil-A items," David Farmer, Chick-fil-A's vice president of menu strategy and development, told Business Insider in a 2016 interview. "But we are going to have to part with some things to make way for some new items."
Here are a few of the items that have been removed from the Chick-fil-A menu:
Credit: Courtesy of Chick-fil-A
Credit: Courtesy of Chick-fil-A
Chick-fil-A Chicken Salad Sandwich
Chick-fil-A dropped its flavorful chicken salad offering in September of 2017. The decision to discontinue the classic sandwich was not an easy one, according to company officials at the time.
"The decision to remove Chicken Salad from the menu was a difficult one," a company official told Today Food in 2017 via email. "We know that many of our customers loved our Chicken Salad, but we have also heard from guests that they are looking for new tastes and fresh flavors on the menu in our restaurants."
Multigrain Oatmeal
It was a breakfast option outside of the poultry family, but the Multigrain Oatmeal still made an impact during its short run. The hearty oatmeal topped with brown sugar, nuts and berries was heralded as “the truth” by Twitter user @micaellllllla . It was introduced in 2011, and the food chain said goodbye to the oat offering in 2016.
Credit: Courtesy of Chick-fil-A
Credit: Courtesy of Chick-fil-A
Spicy Chicken Biscuit
Arguably, removing the Spicy Chicken Biscuit from national Chick-fil-A menus was one of the most controversial removals in the chain’s history. It was one of many traditional Chick-fil-A items booted from most menus when healthy options like the Superfood Side and Grilled Chicken Nuggets came to be. Chick-fil-A still serves the spicier breakfast dish in restaurants in 95 cities, including Atlanta, Chicago Baltimore, Maryland, and even smaller towns like Lexington, Kentucky.
The reactions were harsh upon the news of the biscuit’s demise across the country.
"The removal of the spicy chicken biscuit is the greatest atrocity to mankind since apartheid," Facebook user Matthew Perez wrote on the company's Facebook page, according to Business Insider.
At the time, company officials said the decision was based off of sheer numbers, since the Spicy Chicken Biscuit accounted for only 0.5 % of Chick-fil-A sales, Farmer told BI at the time.
In January 2019, Chick-fil-A partially had a change of heart. The chain — for a limited time — gave customers the option of a close cousin to the beloved biscuit, the Spicy Chick-n-Strips Biscuit. It featured two Spicy Chick-n-Strips seasoned with a blend of peppers and served on a baked buttermilk biscuit. “For spicy-lovers, this limited-time breakfast option is sure to start your morning off on the right foot,” read a statement from the Chicken Wire blog. That biscuit is no longer listed on the menu.
Cinnamon Clusters
For the Chick-fil-A faithfuls with a sweet tooth, the conclusion of the Cinnamon Cluster run was a sour bit of news. The bite-size pastry was an option for dessert in the morning. Twitter user @PatrickLachin compared the treat unabashedly to heaven, writing in a past tweet “If you wanna know what Heaven tastes like, get a cinnamon cluster from chickfila.”
Though it made “mornings sweeter,” as Chick-fil-A put it, the pastry introduced in 2005 sweetened its last morning in 2016.
Sunflower Multigrain Bagel (Spring 2021)
Credit: Via chick-fil-a.com
Credit: Via chick-fil-a.com
The tides of the changing restaurant business have turned in 2021 for America’s most popular fast-food chain. The powers that be have once again decided to make some changes to the menu to make room for new items. Chick-fil-A officials announced in February 2021 that decaf coffee and the Sunflower Multigrain Bagel would no longer be offered as of spring 2021.
