# First Chick-fil-a In U.k. To Close In 6 Months Amid Protests



## Black Ambrosia (Oct 20, 2019)

*First Chick-fil-A in U.K. to Close in 6 Months Amid Protests*
By Derrick Bryson Taylor

Oct. 19, 2019
A local L.G.B.T.Q. group called for a boycott of the restaurant soon after it opened at a mall in Reading, England.






A Chick-fil-A at a mall in England that had been the target of protests will close in six months, the company said. Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times
Just days after Chick-fil-A’s first restaurant in the United Kingdom opened and amid protests by activists about the company’s opposition to same-sex marriage, the chain said on Saturday it will close the site in six months.

The Oracle, the shopping mall where the restaurant leases space, told the BBCit would not allow Chick-fil-A to stay beyond its “initial six-month pilot period” and that it was the “right thing to do” after a call to boycott the chain by Reading Pride, a local lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender advocacy group.

Chick-fil-A said it had planned to stay for a limited time anyway.

“We have been very pleased with the lines since opening Oct. 10 and are grateful for customer response to our food and our approach to customer service,” the company said on Saturday. “We mutually agreed to a six-month lease with the Oracle Mall in Reading as part of a longer term strategy for us as we look to expand our international presence.”

Reading Pride had been outspoken about Chick-fil-A’s presence in England.

“We are staunchly opposed to Chick-fil-A setting up shop in the UK and certainly in Reading,” the group said in a statement on Twitter. “The chain’s ethos and moral stance goes completely against our values, and that of the UK as we are a progressive country” that has legalized same-sex marriage and “continues to strive toward equality.”

The statement noted that Dan T. Cathy, the company’s chairman and chief executive, was quoted in 2012 saying that Chick-fil-A believed in the “biblical definition of the family unit.”

Mr. Cathy’s comments came after news reports revealed that the company’s foundation had donated money to groups in the United States working to prevent the legalization of same-sex marriage.

On Friday, Reading Pride announced that after talking with the Oracle, mall management “stated they will review their selection process and ensure a more thorough check is in place.” The mall did not respond to a request for comment on Saturday.

Photos and video shared on Twitter of a protest on Saturday showed people holding a sign that read: “GET THE CHICK OUT. Say NO to bigotry and hatred on your High Street.”

Asked if the chain had plans to set up elsewhere in England after its lease was up, a company spokeswoman said, “We are always looking and learning, and do so through pop-up locations, but nothing else to share right now.”

When Chick-fil-A opened a three-story, 5,000 square-foot space in Midtown Manhattan in 2015, it was met by activists who stood outside the restaurant.

The Atlanta-based chain was founded by S. Truett Cathy in 1967 and it now has more than 2,400 restaurants in North America. The company opened its first international location in Toronto in September. Protesters showed up there, too.


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## dancinstallion (Oct 20, 2019)

I have mixed feelings about this. I think the lgtbq community can be bullies sometimes.


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## abigailhiggings (Oct 20, 2019)

I wish black people had that much power


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## Laela (Oct 20, 2019)

> Chick-fil-A said it had planned to stay for a limited time anyway.


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## Black Ambrosia (Oct 20, 2019)

Idk if I believe they planned to stay for limited time but it’s kind of funny to respond that way.


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## Kanky (Oct 20, 2019)

Chick-fil-A doesn’t bother me at all. I think it is their lack of hypocrisy.


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## Black Ambrosia (Oct 20, 2019)

Kanky said:


> Chick-fil-A doesn’t bother me at all. *I think it is their lack of hypocrisy*.


I agree. They stand firm in their beliefs.


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## metro_qt (Oct 20, 2019)

I would be sad if they quickly closed down the Toronto location, I haven't been yet because the lines are too long, and it's out of the way for me...

But I want to taste what the hype is all about


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## intellectualuva (Oct 20, 2019)

I dont get the appeal in terms of food, but their service is fantastic. Polite in a way that makes other places stand out in terms of their mediocre to awful service. I also don't mind the shakes if I'm in one. Either way, I've never had a bad experience ordering food for other people or being with people who choose to eat there.


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## Black Ambrosia (Oct 20, 2019)

intellectualuva said:


> I dont get the appeal in terms of food, but *their service is fantastic*. Polite in a way that makes other places stand out in terms of their mediocre to awful service. I also don't mind the shakes if I'm in one. Either way, I've never had a bad experience ordering food for other people or being with people who choose to eat there.


I just had training at work on client service and Chickfila was an example of superior service. IDK what their training involves or how they find those people but they are the best.


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## Chromia (Oct 20, 2019)

> Chick-fil-A said it had planned to stay for a limited time anyway.


So there!
Take that!
We weren't gonna stay _anyway_!


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## Brwnbeauti (Oct 20, 2019)

Had some real cold fries from Chick-fil-A last night. Never got the hype. Good for them for pushing them out.


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## Chromia (Oct 20, 2019)

abigailhiggings said:


> I wish black people had that much power


Imagine if a restaurant or store closed down a location after racial profiling, like that Starbucks in Philadelphia, that Waffle House in Alabama, or that Nordstrom Rack outside of St. Louis where police were called on black customers.  Or if a new location was prevented from being opened.

Politicians in San Antonio and Buffalo prevented Chick-Fil-A from opening in those airports for the same reason that people are boycotting the UK location.


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## HappilyLiberal (Oct 21, 2019)

abigailhiggings said:


> I wish black people had that much power



Black people don't have that much power because black people are undisciplined.  As much as black women have been attacked in Asian Beauty Supply Stores and Asian Nail Salons black women are still their primary customer base.  Before we can ask anyone to fight for us, we have to be willing to fight for ourselves!


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## guyaneseyankee (Oct 21, 2019)

Black Ambrosia said:


> I just had training at work on client service and Chickfila was an example of superior service. IDK what their training involves or how they find those people but they are the best.



It really does blow my mind.  Their workers are so friendly, and I've never experienced a mistake in my order.

Eating at other fast food places, you can almost always guarantee your order is wrong, and you have to pull up so they can bring your corrected order out to your car.  These kids don't care about their jobs, and just looking for a paycheck.

To me, they have the best chicken sandwiches ( though I have now since tired of them).  I think they have sugar in it.

Like chicken wings from the  local chinese food spot.


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## Kanky (Oct 21, 2019)

HappilyLiberal said:


> Black people don't have that much power because black people are undisciplined.  As much as black women have been attacked in Asian Beauty Supply Stores and Asian Nail Salons black women are still their primary customer base.  Before we can ask anyone to fight for us, we have to be willing to fight for ourselves!


Black folks aren’t any less disciplined than anyone else. It is mostly because black people don’t have enough money to effectively lobby for our interests.

The gay mafia is mostly rich white men who want all of their white privilege. Ordinary gay people as individuals don’t have to do much because there are powerful people with money fighting on their behalf. (For example there are plenty of gay people still eating at Chick-Fil-A and voting for Republicans.)Black people don’t have that, so almost every single black person has to fall in line to get things done. That’s a lot harder to pull off.


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