Popular US fast-food chain Chick-fil-A set to open restaurants in the UK

The Colonel is in for some competition

The chain, which specialises in fried chicken sandwiches but also serves up wraps, salads, nuggets and has a full breakfast menu offering burritos, hash browns and muffins, runs more than 2,800 restaurants in the US and announced its UK expansion on Thursday.

Just a few years after closing its first UK pop-up store following LGBTQ+ protests, the Atlanta-based chain plans to open an outlet in 2025 and hopes to create 80 to 120 jobs per store.

According to the Financial Times, the business plans to invest $100mn in the UK. Chick-fil-A launched in Reading in 2019 but just eight days later the shopping centre housing the store announced its lease would end after six months following a backlash from LGBT+ activists.

The company has also previously launched in Aviemore, Scotland, before closing in 2020 and did a one-day pop-up event in Edinburgh.

LGBTQ+ campaigners took issue with the founding Cathy family’s historically anti-gay stance.

The store’s Christian owners previously donated to Exodus International, an organisation advocating gay “conversion therapy”, before it closed in 2013, the FT reported. The Cathy family also gave money through its charitable foundation to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which opposed same-sex marriage.

The chain later issued an apology to the gay community for “years of undue judgment”.

Anita Costello, regional director at Chick-fil-A said: "We are excited our restaurants will bring new jobs and opportunities throughout the UK.

"Serving communities is at the heart of everything we do at Chick-fil-A, and our unique operator model provides one of a kind access to entrepreneurial opportunities."

She added: "We look forward to sharing our authentic Chick-fil-A experience: providing fresh food prepared with high-quality ingredients, served with our signature hospitality."

The FT reported that Chick-fil-A is hoping to draw a line under the LGBTQ+ scandal, having overhauled its philanthropic policy in 2019 to focus its giving on education, homelessness and hunger. The publication quoted Joanna Symonds, Chick-fil-A’s head of UK operations, as saying: “From our earliest days, we’ve worked to positively influence the places we call home and this will be the same for our stores in the UK.”

The UK move is part of a larger $1bn plan to introduce Chick-fil-A’s signature fried chicken sandwich to five markets outside North America by 2030, FT reported.

The UK is likely to be a tough market to crack for fried chicken. KFC operates more than 1,000 stores. Popeyes also plans to expand to 350 UK stores.

Peter Backman, an independent food sector analyst, told the FT that Chick-fil-A may struggle to win over UK consumers because of its evangelical Christian stance.

Chick-fil-A is hoping to attract UK franchise partners with what it bills as a “unique” owner-operator model, which requires just $10,000 of investment from the franchisee, the FT suggested, and what Costello described as “one of a kind access to entrepreneurial opportunities”.

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