BUFFALO, N.Y. — It's a busy time of year on the New York State Thruway and state Assemblyman Tony Simone says lots of weary travelers will be looking for somewhere to eat.

"With Christmas upon us and the holidays and Sunday being one of the biggest travel days, they should have every option," Assembly sponsor Tony Simone, D-Manhattan, said.

However, he said right now that's not the case. Chick-fil-A, the national fast-food chain that currently operates at seven new Thruway rest stops, does not open on Sundays.

Simone is proposing legislation to ensure thruway restaurants must open every day in the future. He said the legislation would only apply to future contracts, so it would not impact restaurants that are already operating. 

"This is about consumers," he said. "Folks are driving. We've gotten complaints from people that McDonald's had a long line, the healthy store was closed, Chick- fil-A was closed because of it being Sunday and Sunday's a busy time."

Chick-fil-A has faced backlash in the past for donating to organizations that support anti-LGBTQ policies. The assembly member, who is gay, said that's not what this bill is about.

"I know they've changed some of their policies that I was against. They had many policies in place against me and my family but this is not aimed at that. This is aimed at making sure our rest area stops have fully utilized and functioning restaurants and choices for New York drivers,” he said.

Simone said he has been ensured by the chain it welcomes everyone. However, he said as misinformation around his bill has spread, he hasn't seen the same sentiment from some Chick-fil-A supporters. 

"Some of the reaction to this, I call it the cult of Chick-fil-A, lots of hateful messages, homophobic comments," he said.

The Thruway Authority said by the time all of the new rest stops are open, Chick-fil-A will operate in less than half. It said there was high demand from customers and Applegreen, which has a 33-year contract to manage the facilities, factored in the Sunday closures, in making sure it fulfills its requirement to have at least one hot and one cold food option available at all times.

The authority said all of the stops with Chick-fil-As have or will have a 24-hour convenience store and least one other food concept, with some having up to three additional food concepts.