INO and CFA, as much as I disagree with their politics also don’t franchise, have tight control of their supply chains(In-N-Out grinds their own meat in Buena Park and Stockton, CA), all their stores are company owned and the families that founded them(Synder & Truett families) are still calling the shots at their headquarters, not disgruntled franchisees. And they actually treat their workers decent for fast food(INO pays above minimum wage in CA, CFA is closed on Sundays) as well.
McDonald’s and Starbucks comes close for standards and cleanliness, but the former is franchised. Jack in the Box had to take food safety seriously after the 1993 E. Coli outbreak they had that almost did them in. I hear more E. Coli and salmonella incidents with Safeway’s central meat processing plant in Tracy, CA than I do most fast food joints.
As a couple others have mentioned earlier, CFA is franchised. I happen to know this because I just recently read an article about the process for getting a CFA franchise.
Wondering what it takes to open a Chick-fil-A franchise? Here are the steps you'll need to take and what you can expect at each stage of the process.
www.workstream.us
Not being a coffee drinker, and also not into trendy places, I've never been to a Starbucks, so I can't speak to their standards. But I can say that McDonalds has by far the greatest range, from very good restaurants to absolutely raunchy. I've seen more of the raunchy than I have the good.
The best managed McDonald's I have ever been to is in Madisonville, KY. When I first moved to town, I was in awe that the lunch line at this franchise extended all the way around the building. A lot like a CFA, but not quite. So I tried it out. Yea, the food was good. And it was good every time I went there. The raunchy McDonald's I've seen are too many to list. But one in particular, in Bennettsville, SC, was so bad with rodents and insects that McDonalds's corporate made the franchise tear the building down and rebuild. Anyone who had ever visited that site should not have been surprised. The rodents and insects did not infest the building because they followed State and corporate health standards.
Not only does INO pay well above minimum wage, as you mention, but CFA does also. It doesn't take genius to realize that this is good for the company and good for the customer, as it allows them to be much more selective in the hiring process. (I love going to a restaurant where the employee can articulate a full sentence, make eye contact, remember that I am the customer, and treat me with kindness and dignity.)
I know you say you don't agree with, what you call the politics, at CFA and INA. (I personally admire both, for being willing to stand up for their beliefs, and not be bullied in this current society we live in. But that is a topic that I don't want to further, as it will get this discussion closed.) But I will say, I wonder if the values of CFA and INA is partly why they treat their employees as well as they do. It doesn't seem to be coincidental that both have similar values, and both have success driven by similar workplace standards.