THEN AND NOW: How Chick-fil-A has changed through the years

In 1946, Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy opened the Dwarf Grill in Hapeville, Georgia.

In 1967, Cathy opened the first Chick-fil-A and invented the restaurant's iconic chicken sandwich.

Chick-fil-A was named America's favorite brand in January, despite a history of controversy over LGBTQ issues.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Chick-fil-A's origin story began when S. Truett Cathy opened the Dwarf Grill in Hapeville, Georgia, in 1946.

The small roadside diner was later renamed when it became one of the chain's "Dwarf Houses." The original location previously acted as one of 12 Chick-fil-A locations serving modern favorites and items from the original restaurant's "blue menu."

However, the restaurant closed for renovations in April 2021. The location will undergo a "full restaurant remodel," according to the restaurant's Facebook page.

"We will be reopening later this year with a look and design that not only honors our past, but moves us to the future," wrote restaurant operators.

The first official Chick-fil-A locations were located in shopping malls.

The first restaurant to bear the name Chick-fil-A opened in the Greenbriar Mall in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1967.

According to The Chicken Wire, the restaurant occupied just 384 square feet and some have credited the chain with being an "early pioneer" of what would become the modern mall food court.

Chick-fil-A opened its first stand-alone restaurant in 1986 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Free-standing locations are now the norm for Chick-fil-A, and mall locations are much less common.

Chick-fil-A also experimented with drive-thru-only restaurant locations.

The first-ever drive-thru-only Chick-fil-A restaurant opened in 1993 in Greenville, South Carolina. By eliminating dining rooms in these locations, the restaurants were designed to be faster and more convenient for customers.

In 2015, there remained just 35 Chick-fil-A restaurants nationwide that were drive-thru-only.

Today, there are more than 2,500 Chick-fil-A restaurants in North America.

While the chain was founded in Georgia, still has its headquarters there, and is regarded as a "Southern" fast-food chain, restaurants can actually be found in 47 different states as well as Washington, DC.

In 2019, Chick-fil-A expanded internationally when it opened its first location in Toronto, Canada. Later that year, the chain opened its first restaurant in the United Kingdom.

While Chick-fil-A continues to add locations in Canada, its location...