B&H Announces It Will Open On Saturdays If Chick-Fil-A Opens On Sundays

B&H and CFA at the crosshairs of an online petition

New York, NY — What do B&H and Chick-fil-A have in common? Apparently more than we think: They’re both good at what they do, and they both close one day a week—which is now in question. Under mounting pressure from their restless, "heathen" customer base, B&H—New York’s camera megastore—is considering capitulating to open their store on Saturdays under one condition: if the mega-fast-food restaurant, Chick-fil-A, opens its stores on Sundays.

It is well known among photography and videography professionals, as well as those who just like to walk around for hours through a store looking at gear they can’t afford, that B&H is closed on Saturdays. This, of course, is due to the ownership being of the Orthodox Jewish persuasion.

Whether one likes it or not, the Saturday closures—as well as holiday closures that follow the Jewish calendar—are something that photo/video aficionados have come to deal with. Whether it is the physical store on 9th Avenue and 34th Street or online at bhphotovideo.com, all have found their way of learning how to wait for Sunday or Monday to buy their precious wares.

The Petition

But a growing number of B&H’s more pagan or "heathen" customers have taken their dissent and disdain to online forums, ultimately leading to a full write-up in The New York Times demanding that the camera megastore also be open on Saturdays.

“I get that they’re religious and all, but sometimes I need to grab a battery or an accessory—even sometimes a loaner body—the day of a shoot, and I just can’t wait for Amazon or something like that to deliver,” one disgruntled customer wrote on the online petition.

“Saturdays?! Come on, that’s when most of us are working. We need the store to work when we work, just in case we need anything for our shoot that day,” another signer commented.

One commenter stated, “I’m not religious, you know, and I respect the commitment; but you should also respect us. Why should we be forced to follow their traditions and religious observances? Open the d—m store; otherwise, I’m going someplace else.”

More than one petitioner admitted they have gone to Manhattan to buy something from the store without realizing until they arrived that it was closed. “D—m that closure! You know how many times I’ve parked my car across the street, ran through traffic with my head down, rushing to get something from B&H just to see the place closed?! It’s infuriating! Now I have to go to Facebook and ask other photographers if anyone nearby has batteries I can borrow for the day!”

With over 1,000 signatures on the petition, B&H could not dismiss the online chatter and call it just the noise of the few. Surprisingly, B&H has come out with a statement capitulating to the global chatter with a caveat: "We’ll open on Saturdays if Chick-fil-A opens on Sundays."

Setting the World On Fire

The shock. The awe. The stunner. With that statement, B&H stoked a fire that had been quietly burning. No longer is it just a photography issue; by providing this statement, B&H has set the world on fire and caused a stir that they did not know would incite such a firestorm—or did they?

Whether a genius marketing move or just a way to take the heat off themselves, B&H has brought into conversation what many Chick-fil-A lovers have been asking since S. Truett Cathy founded the chain in Hapeville, Georgia, in 1946 (opening the first official Chick-fil-A in Atlanta in 1967).

“Why in the heavens would you align your anti-God cameras to our beloved spicy chicken?” asked Meagan of Charleston, South Carolina. “Sundays are holy days and, as much as I love eating my Chick-fil-A chicken nuggets, there should be rest in our week,” said Brad from Knoxville, Tennessee.

The CFA Petition

Unbeknownst to photographers, there has been an ongoing draw for CFA to actually open on Sundays. In fact, this proposition from B&H has just reignited to outcry.

“Oh, h—l. I’ve been asking that same question for decades now. Why close on the only day that I watch football for 12 hours? Do you know how much money they’d be making from me if they were open on Sundays?” said another Brad, possibly the evil twin of the one from Knoxville. “I don’t go to church on Sundays. My cathedral is the Gridiron; my altar is my 32-inch TCL.”

“Wow! I didn’t know this,” admitted Marcos Beast of Beastly Photography. “I’m a Wendy’s guy myself, but I need to know where that petition is—whatever I need to do to have access on Saturdays, I will do.”

The Closures Remain

The Tog Times has reached out to Chick-fil-A for comment concerning this "call out" by B&H and has not received a statement or any official retort. One thing is for sure: the demands for open doors during Saturday rest or Sunday church are now reaching a fever pitch. As of this writing, there is no notice from either B&H or Chick-fil-A on whether or not they will acquiesce to the demands of their less-than-religious customer base.

So for now, both customer bases have to continue contending with their own traditions: the Chick-fil-A customer will have to eat microwaved Spicy Chicken Sandwiches on a Sunday afternoon, and the B&H customer has to settle for a trip to Best Buy to purchase overpriced XQD cards to replace the ones they left at home—some actually having to turn back around to their house or office to pick up the batteries they inadvertently left in their haste to get to their gigs, all because they can't buy them in Manhattan on a Saturday.