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Boycott dooms first UK Chick-fil-A

Information Analyst

Penultimate Amazing
Information Analyst
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Messages
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Besźel or Ul Qoma - not sure...
BBC News: Reading Chick-fil-A outlet to close in LGBT rights row

"A US fast-food chain will cease trading at its first UK outlet amid a row over donations to anti-LGBT groups.

Gay rights campaigners called for a boycott of Chick-fil-A, which opened its first branch at The Oracle shopping centre [mall] in Reading on 10 October.

A spokeswoman for the centre said "the right thing to do" was to not extend the restaurant's lease beyond the "six-month pilot period".

Chick-fil-A said its donations were purely focused on youth and education.

The family-owned company, founded in Atlanta in 1967, is one of the biggest fast-food chains in the USA and boasts about 2,400 outlets across North America.

According to US news website Think Progress, in 2017 the Chick-fil-A Foundation donated millions of dollars to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the Paul Anderson Youth Home and the Salvation Army.

Campaigners from LGBT organisation, Reading Pride, said all three organisations have a reputation of being hostile to LGBT rights.

In 2012, the company's chairman sparked a US boycott when he said he opposed gay marriage."
 
That's just up the road from me, I wish I'd known so I could have not bought from them deliberately rather than unknowingly. As a country we don't have much to be proud of right now but let's give ourselves this one.
 
I suspect it will only have been a temporary site anyway. Prior to this one they had the vegan fast food one which was also marketing research rather than a full blown viable business.
 
Information Analyst said:
A US fast-food chain will cease trading at its first UK outlet amid a row over donations to anti-LGBT groups.
(...)
Chick-fil-A said its donations were purely focused on youth and education.
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Which anti-LGBT groups do they donate to?
 
Darat said:
I suspect it will only have been a temporary site anyway. Prior to this one they had the vegan fast food one which was also marketing research rather than a full blown viable business.
Click to expand...

Well, possibly; the vegan burger place was testing marketing the product itself, before selling the burgers through supermarkets. I guess Chick-Fil-A (I have a real problem with that name*) could have been finding out how their products went down in the UK. Now they know. :)

Local news report on the situation.


*First, I want to pronounce it 'chick filer'; second, it doesn't work if pronounced as intended, since we say 'fillet' not 'fill-ay' in the UK; third, I'd never say chick fillet anyway.
 
Last edited:
Information Analyst said:
BBC News: Reading Chick-fil-A outlet to close in LGBT rights row

"A US fast-food chain will cease trading at its first UK outlet amid a row over donations to anti-LGBT groups.

Gay rights campaigners called for a boycott of Chick-fil-A, which opened its first branch at The Oracle shopping centre [mall] in Reading on 10 October.

A spokeswoman for the centre said "the right thing to do" was to not extend the restaurant's lease beyond the "six-month pilot period".

Chick-fil-A said its donations were purely focused on youth and education.

The family-owned company, founded in Atlanta in 1967, is one of the biggest fast-food chains in the USA and boasts about 2,400 outlets across North America.

According to US news website Think Progress, in 2017 the Chick-fil-A Foundation donated millions of dollars to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the Paul Anderson Youth Home and the Salvation Army.

Campaigners from LGBT organisation, Reading Pride, said all three organisations have a reputation of being hostile to LGBT rights.

In 2012, the company's chairman sparked a US boycott when he said he opposed gay marriage."
Click to expand...
The franchise was started by a fundamentalist Christian. I'm surprised the UK fundys allowed this to happen. I don't believe n God either and I believe gay fellow citizens have the right to be happy in a marriage. Having said that I still et at chik-filet because I like the food served there. The owner has the right to feel the way he does. It's in our Constitution.
 
Cainkane1 said:
The franchise was started by a fundamentalist Christian. I'm surprised the UK fundys allowed this to happen. I don't believe n God either and I believe gay fellow citizens have the right to be happy in a marriage. Having said that I still et at chik-filet because I like the food served there. The owner has the right to feel the way he does. It's in our Constitution.
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Which has absolute zero to do with a business operating in England.
 
Cainkane1 said:
You do have similar freedom of religion or speech in the UK though.
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The UK has stricter anti-discrimination and anti hate speech laws than the United States so it may very well be that some of the organisations supported by CFA might be censured under UK law.
 
In the continental U.S., you can always get your chicken at PopeYes instead.

Although, for some reason I've always had the impression they support the Vatican stance on social issues.
 
The Salvation Army is now evil?

Sorry. Will keep donating to them while they keep rocking up to our junior rugby games for free.

Have no idea about the 2 other groups, but presume the anti gay thing is just as tenuous
 
cullennz said:
The Salvation Army is now evil?

Sorry. Will keep donating to them while they keep rocking up to our junior rugby games for free.

Have no idea about the 2 other groups, but presume the anti gay thing is just as tenuous
Click to expand...
They do appear to have reformed their ways a tad but still pretty much a cult.
 
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