One of the most popular fast-food restaurants in the United States, which has attracted controversy for its Christian roots and ethical stance, is attempting to launch in the UK for the second time.
Chick-fil-A has 2,800 stores spanning Canada to Puerto Rico. It is best known for its fried chicken sandwiches and closed doors on Sundays and is planning to open five branches early this year in Belfast, Leeds, Liverpool and London.
The company says that this expansion into the UK market is part of a broader plan to open restaurants in both Europe and Asia by 2026, and to have five international locations by 2030.
But this isn’t the first time that the popular chicken shop has tried to set up outposts in the UK. In 2019 Chick-fil-A opened a restaurant in Reading; however it was swiftly shut down after just six months due to opposition from LGBTQ+ activists.
Following its failure in England, the fried-chicken franchise travelled up to Aviemore in Scotland to launch a three-month pop-up. But that attempt failed too, with a repeat of the backlash it received in Reading.
This hostility to the company’s arrival in the UK originates from Chick-fil-A’s founders’ support for and alleged million-dollar funding of Christian groups that are against same-sex marriage.
Founded in 1946 by S. Truett Cathy, Chick-fil-A’s business model is rooted in the Christian beliefs of its founder such as Sunday Sabbatarianism, which the company observes by staying closed on Sundays each week.
Even Chick-fil-A’s vision statement ‘To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A,’ reflects its Christian foundations.
However, as the chicken chain takes aim at the UK for the second time, it may be in a better position to pacify its opponents. Since the backlash it faced last time, the company says it has stopped funding the controversial groups in question.
Instead, Chick-fil-A is promising to donate $25,000 towards charities targeting hunger in local communities each time it opens a new restaurant globally. Its restaurants will also donate surplus food to local shelters, soup kitchens and charities to help in the fight against food waste and insecurity.
These programmes will both be introduced in the UK with the launch of the new restaurants, Chick-fil-A says, noting that work is currently underway to identify partnerships with local organisations.
