What to know about the new locations
Chick-fil-A announced plans last week to launch in the United Kingdom in 2025, marking the company’s first permanent expansion outside of North America.
The company also outlined plans earlier this year to open restaurants in Europe and Asia by 2026 and five international locations by 2030, according to a press release.
Their plan is to open five locally owned and operated restaurants in the UK within the first two years, and expand across the UK from there, the company said. The company currently has more than 2,800 locations across the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada.
According to the company, each restaurant will create around 80 to 120 new jobs, and all chicken will be sourced from the UK and Ireland, as well as 100% free-range eggs and welfare certification.
“We are delighted that our restaurants are creating new jobs and opportunities across the UK. Serving communities is at the heart of everything we do at Chick-fil-A, and our unique local owner-operator model provides unique access to entrepreneurial opportunities. said Anita Costello, international director of Chick-fil-A Inc, in the press release.
“Since we started, we have worked to positively influence the places we live and it will be the same for our UK stores,” Joanna Symonds, head of UK operations, said in the release.
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The History of Chick-fil-A in the United Kingdom
The company opened a temporary store in a shopping center in Reading, England, in 2019 and quickly faced protests from local LGBTQ+ rights activists.
The Oracle, the shopping center where the restaurant leased space, did not allow Chick-fil-A to extend its lease beyond the “six-month pilot period,” according to the BBC.
The BBC reported in 2019 that activists from local LGBTQ rights group Reading Pride had called on people to boycott the channel over its million-dollar donations to organizations such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes , the Paul Anderson Youth Home and the United States Salvation Army.
According to Reading Pride at the time, all three organizations had a reputation for being hostile to LGBTQ rights.
“We are strongly opposed to Chick-fil-A locating in the United Kingdom and certainly in Reading,” the group said in a 2019 statement. statement on Twitter. “The channel’s ethics and moral stance go completely against our values and those of the UK, as we are a progressive country” which has legalized same-sex marriage and “continues to strive towards equality “.
Later in 2019, Chick-fil-A changed its approach to charitable giving following criticism from LGBTQ rights groups. The company said in a statement that it would “deepen its giving to a smaller number of organizations” with a focus on education, homelessness and hunger.
“Additionally, the Foundation will no longer make multi-year commitments and will reevaluate its philanthropic partnerships each year to enable maximum impact,” the company said in the release. “These partners could include faith-based and non-faith-based charities.”
Contributor: Brett Molina, USA TODAY
USA Today
