Every year, National Sandwich Day is celebrated on Nov. 3. This year, that day happens to fall on a Sunday, which happens to be the one day of the week that the beloved Atlanta-based chicken chain Chick-fil-A is closed.
So earlier this week when the chain sent an email to its loyalty club subscribers promoting this special day honoring sandwiches, a lot of people were very confused.
“No matter which Chick-fil-A sandwich you love, order yours on November 3 for National Sandwich Day,” read the email.
Of course, had anyone actually followed up on that offer and headed to a Chick-fil-A, they would have found a very empty restaurant.
On Thursday, someone must have realized the mistake and the company followed up with a tongue-in-cheek apology note. The subject line read, “Well … this is awkward.”
"We recently sent an email that included a message about National Sandwich Day, which naturally we were very excited about," the email read. "We didn't realize it falls on Sunday when we are closed. We apologize for the confusion and hope to see you soon (Monday-Saturday)."
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So what, exactly, happened here?
"The cows sometimes get over-eager on their quest for self-preservation. They have been reminded that Sundays are off-limits,” a Chick-fil-A spokesperson told Business Insider. A representative for the brand was not immediately available to offer additional comments on the snafu.
Sandwich lovers need not fear, though, because they’ll have lots of other sandwich options to enjoy, including a certain very popular fried chicken sandwich available at Popeyes. The chain's first chicken sandwich, which originally sold out in just a few weeks, is scheduled to return on Nov. 3, so of course Popeyes couldn’t resist throwing some shade at the rival chicken chain.
Popeyes even took a dig at Chick-fil-A before the email incident, announcing that its chicken sandwich was going to return on a day when the competition wasn’t even open. The chain posted a YouTube video with a highway sign showing both Popeyes and Chick-fil-A restaurants. "Open Sunday" was written under Popeyes, but "closed Sunday" appeared under Chick-fil-A.
Ouch.
