When I was much, much younger, I attended a Christian conference called "Marketplace" in the Chicago Hilton Towers, along Michigan Avenue. You may have seen this place -- it's the gold-encrusted hotel featured at the end of "The Fugitive". You know that roof chase scene at the end? I've been out on that roof a number of times.

But, as usual, I digress...

I saw fliers for a business called "Chick-Fil-A", looking for people interested in getting involved -- I think it was looking for franchisees. Never heard of the place, but it was clear they were trying to look serious about ethics from their blurb.

Now I know what all that was about. Chick-Fil-A has great chicken sandwiches. And a funny logo. And they give the workers one day off a week. Always. Radical.

I'm not the only admirer:

For a big-time corporate type, Dan Cathy doesn't put on any airs. He goes to 40 or 50 of these openings a year. And there he was out in the cold at 6:30 a.m.

Cathy gave the crowd a message that you don't often hear from a business tycoon. And, without prompting, he repeated it to me later in the warm light of day.

"We're here to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us and to have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A," he said, quoting the company's mission statement.

Sitting in a booth in the new store, Cathy pointed to a black-and-white photo on the wall. It shows him and his brother at the opening of one of their father's early restaurants nearly 40 years ago. His father, Truett Cathy, had led a prayer right before it was snapped.

On Monday night, during final preparations, the staff at the new Hernando store said a prayer, too.

"We've not changed our story," Cathy said. And then he quoted a biblical proverb by chapter and verse: "In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths."

One way that Chick-fil-A acknowledges God is by closing its doors on Sundays so workers can go to church or just stay home with their families and rest. It sponsors foster homes. Its kids' meals typically include character-building books. And Chick-fil-A is hugely profitable.

Again, Cathy says, "God has blessed this business."

John R. Mitten, the local owner-operator of the store, has similar convictions. He says the company doesn't require its employees to be Christians - that would be illegal. But it seeks honesty, integrity and a servant's heart from each applicant, he said.

"We look for characteristics and qualifications that are most typically found in believers," he said.

Chick-fil-A's arrival in Hernando County will satisfy our longing for chicken sandwiches, waffle fries and fresh-squeezed lemonade. But it is clear Chick-fil-A wants its influence to be felt far beyond the walls of its dining room.

Who says you have to choose between true profits (of a non-superficial kind) and making the world a better place?