A spokesman for the restaurant chain Chick-fil-A announced that the billionaire founder, S. Truett Cathy, died early Monday. Cathy was 93.

The Chick-fil-A company spokesman, Mark Baldwin, said to The Associated Press that Cathy passed away in his home surrounded by his loved ones. Baldwin said funeral plans have not been arranged yet.

Chick-fil-A became famous for its chicken sandwiches and its conservative business practices, largely because of Cathy's personal ideology. The franchise closed its doors every Sunday in order to give workers a day of rest. Chick-fil-A also garnered attention for its public opposition of gay marriage.

Cathy opened the first Chick-fil-A restaurant in Atlanta in 1967 but had run diners in Georgia since 1946. Its signature boneless chicken sandwich, which Cathy is credited with creating, launched its spread to 39 states and over 1,800 restaurant locations.

In 2013, the company reported on its website that its annual sales had reached $5 billion, even though the businesses were only serving food six days a week. Executives at the time said Chick-fil-A makes as much money during the week as its competitors who are open Sundays.

While its religious observance of resting on Sundays didn't seem to hinder the franchise, Chick-fil-A found itself as the target of protests when one of Cathy's children publicly stated the business did not support gay marriage.

Cathy's son, Dan, the current president and chairman of the restaurant chain, told the Baptist Press in 2012 that Chick-fil-A believed in "the biblical definition of a family." Gay rights activists and others boycotted the fast food stores. The Jim Henson Co. had their Muppet toys pulled from its kids' meals.

Eventually the controversy subsided.

Cathy had amassed a sizeable fortune from his line of Southern-style restaurants, his $6 billion wealth often gaining attention from Forbes magazine as one of the wealthiest Americans. He wrote several books, including the 2007 book "How Did You Do It, Truett?" where Cathy shared his strategy for success.

"There's really no secret for success," he wrote. "I hope it will open eyes for people. They don't have to follow my recipe, but this is what works for me."