Chick-fil-A Urges Families to Put Down Phones at the Dinner Table; You'll Get Free Ice Cream

Todd Starnes : Apr 7, 2026
ToddStarnes.com

"It just got me thinking how to get people to disconnect in order to connect and to take a technology timeout. Be present where your feet are." -Brad Williams, owner of 2 Chick-fil-A restaurants

[ToddStarnes.com] When I was a kid there was a rule during supper time. No television and no phone calls. We were expected to sit down around the table and enjoy a meal and a conversation together. (Image: Pexels)

According to the Food Industry Association more than 80 percent of American families still gather around the table—but many are distracted.

Only one-quarter say family meals are free from cell phones. That means most Americans are busy texting in between bites of Stove Top Stuffing.

But Chick-Fil-A wants to change that new norm in American culture. Many of their restaurants are urging families to take the cell phone challenge.

Brad Williams, who owns two Chick-fil-A restaurants in Georgia, created the "cell phone coop," a box that sits on every table in his restaurants.

"It just got me thinking how to get people to disconnect in order to connect and to take a technology timeout," Williams told ABC News. "Be present where your feet are."

Families are encouraged to put away their phones and enjoy a meal together. Those who do—get a delicious "Icedream Cone."

"We're trying to slowly create rituals that create disciplines and will slowly create habits," Williams said. "It's almost like we're starting to create a no-cellphone zone."

ABC says more than 200 restaurants have adopted his idea.

"There's more conversation and chatter," he said of the impact. "It's hard to sit with your family and not do the challenge now."

Franklin Graham was one of many Americans who commended Chick-fil-A for the silencing of the phones initiative.

"That's a great incentive and will serve as a reminder to focus on meals together without distractions. Kudos to the management at this Chick-fil-A," Graham wrote on X.

President Reagan once said that all great change in America begins at the dinner table. It was his final message to the American people when he left office.

Maybe we should take up Chick-fil-A's challenge and embrace President Reagan's message to start a conversation in America. Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here