Cluck you!
Shake Shack appears to be throwing some heavy shade in the direction of rival fast food brand Chick-fil-A, as the burger chain seeks to promote its own chicken offerings.
Each Sunday in April, Shake Shack will be giving away free Chicken Shack sandwiches — a “crispy, white-meat chicken breast” treat topped with pickles, lettuce and mayo — with a minimum purchase of $10.
Chick-fil-A is famously closed on Sundays, the day Shake Shack will be offering the freebies.
The chain touted their offering of antibiotic-free chicken, “something not everyone can say these days,” the announcement quipped. It did not refer to the galvanizing Georgia-based chain by name.
The line appeared to be a jab at Chick-fil-A’s recent policy change. The company announced last month that, beginning this spring, it would no longer be serving strictly antibiotic-free chicken.
Instead, the restaurant would switch to poultry containing “No Antibiotics Important To Human Medicine,” meaning that antibiotic use is restricted to animal antibiotics only in the event that the bird or those around it are sick.
Chick-fil-A went antibiotic-free a decade ago, with all of its restaurants eventually serving antibiotic-free chicken by 2019.
But now, the decision to change policy yet again, the fast food eatery said, is due to supply chain efficiency.
“As we looked to the future, the availability of high-quality chicken that meets our rigid standards became a concern,” a Chick-fil-A spokesperson previously said in a statement.
“This change enables us to not only ensure we can continue to serve high-quality chicken, but also chicken that still meets the expectations our customers count on us to deliver.”
According to People, a press release for the Shake Shack promotion described the deal as “one-upping a famously ‘closed on Sundays’ chicken sandwich fast-food chain, which shall remain unnamed.”
Shake Shack’s tongue-in-cheek announcement sparked a debate over which chicken club was preferred among foodies.
“On my life, the Shake Shack chicken sandwich > Chick Fila sandwich [sic],” wrote one user on X.
Shake Shack customers can visit their local storefront or enter the code “CHICKENSUNDAY” on the app to earn their free sandwich.