Chick-fil-A Coming To Town Soon, Sparking Controversy

By Yasmin Nair, Windy City Times

The Chick-fil-A sandwich franchise is planning to open its doors in late April on the intersection of Wabash and Chicago, in the heart of Chicago's downtown. Founded by S. Truett Cathy in the 1960s, the chain is especially popular in the South but has enough of a reputation and devoted fans that the Chicago opening is bound to attract crowds.

However, recent news and controversies regarding its Christian background and allegations about its negative attitudes towards homosexuality may prove to be a stumbling block. Given all the many stories that have been circulating, a closer examination of the facts reveals some truths that appear to have been ignored thus far and also throws light on the task ahead if the Chicago gay community does in fact plan either a boycott or a protest of the franchise.

Cathy's original venture was the Dwarf Grill restaurant in Hapeville, Ga., started in 1946. The first Chick-fil-A store was established in an Atlanta mall in 1967. Today, the chain runs--by most accounts, including its website--about 900 free-standing restaurants, 29 drive-through locations and 214 licensed locations in places like college campuses and hospitals.

Since the chain has yet to open in Chicago, this reporter was unable to procure a sample for research purposes, but this website description of their basic sandwich is sufficiently detailed: "A boneless breast of chicken seasoned to perfection, hand-breaded, pressure cooked in 100% refined peanut oil and served on a toasted, buttered bun with dill pickle chips." The sandwich is also available on a "Golden Wheat bun."

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[Ioan Lightoller]

03:36 PM on 02/13/2011

Just sad that Christians can feed their faces, yet feel self-righteous because they are not homsekshuls (or the looked down upon group of the day). Hope this goes belly up--Chick-Fil-A should not be financially rewarded for pushing hatred and bigotry.

[AJ Hoffman]

05:13 PM on 02/13/2011

Sadly though, it will probably do very well. People don't want to think about where their dollar is going, they just want what they want. Case in point... Oberweiss Dairy... owner is a rabid homophobe and fringe right-wing, yet no one wants to give up their yummy ice cream or overpriced milk in glass bottles...

[Ioan Lightoller]

05:32 PM on 02/13/2011

Fanned and faved. What you say is the sad truth...very few care...and that is what homophobic companies count on.

[jbern]

05:56 PM on 02/13/2011

Fanned and Faved as well. Oberweis's campaign ads were disgusting. I will not give that fascist one penny of my hard-earned money.

It's too bad Chick-Fil-A is the same. There sandwiches are alright.

[AJ Hoffman]

09:21 PM on 02/12/2011

Most Americans don't have a clue where their money is going when they choose to eat at Chick-fil-A. Make an effort to tell your friends and family what the owner and organization stands for. Obviously they aren't going to refuse service to a gay customer or even treat them badly, but that's far from the point. They money you give to this company will be spent to promote anti-gay propaganda and a far-right interpretation of Christianity. Please spread the word to your friends and family to avoid patronizing this company. Your waistline will thank you for it too.

[COPESTIR3]

07:27 PM on 02/14/2011

Indeed, Carl's Jr. has been very active in right wing, pro life causes through the years. And their ads tend to be very offensive. So, I can vote with my dollar and not go there.

[ez duz it]

11:25 AM on 02/12/2011

LOL They got the Wheaton Christian College crowd up north and it looks like they’re ready to set up shop 6 blocks from Moody Bible Institute. It’s a smart business model. A company owned by anti-Gay Christians feeding Christians trans-fat laden “food.” It's perfect!

Personally, I hope the homophobic christodrones eat every meal there, 7/7 - enjoying…

Breakfast:
Three sausages: Calories 660. Fat calories 540.
Biscuit and Gravy: Calories 330. Fat calories 135.
Coffee, black - watching the calories.

Mid-morning snack:
Sausage Biscuit: Calories 490. Fat calories 288.

Lunch:
A dozen Chick-fil-A Nuggets: Calories 390. Fat calories 162.
Chick-fil-A Waffle Potato Fries – 4.5 oz: Calories 407. Fat calories 176.
Fudge Nut Brownie: Calories 330. Fat calories 135.
Diet Soda – after all, the body IS the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Afternoon snack:
A couple of Cinnamon Clusters: Calories 760. Fat calories 234.

Supper:
A Chick-fil-A Chicken Deluxe Sandwich: Calories 420. Fat calories 144.
Chick-fil-A Waffle Potato Fries – 4.5 oz: Calories 407. Fat calories 176.
Chick-fil-A Cheesecake: Calories 340. Fat calories 189.

Bible study date with dreamy opposite-sex partner:
Cookies & Cream Milkshake: Calories 790. Fat calories 297.

A beige daily diet with 5,324 calories; 2,458 of them from fat. I hope they eat to satiety!

[ladyvader]

03:04 PM on 02/12/2011

I have a Chick-fil-A down the street from my house, they are not open on Sundays. Being good Christians and all.

[ez duz it]

04:32 PM on 02/12/2011

Thanx for the heads-up. Delete 7/7 and insert 6/7 :-)

[Ioan Lightoller]

05:35 PM on 02/13/2011

Good Christians....yep. Not work on Sundays (the real sabbath is saturday, btw) and work to revoke/deny rights to those who don't harm them in any way...why does being a good Xtian seem to involve hating on someone and trying to run their lives?

[matty228]

03:05 AM on 02/12/2011

What is with people not understanding that downtown Chicago is not the entire walkable portion of Chicago? "...on the intersection of Wabash and Chicago, in the heart of Chicago's downtown." Actually, no, Chicago's downtown ends at the Chicago river. Although this is more understandable than the other day when I was in the suburbs and asked someone where she lived, and she replied, "downtown." Where she actually lived? LAKEVIEW. Really?

[48thGuy]

10:01 AM on 02/12/2011

Matty, I agree. I go knuts when some (708) tells me about some great place 'downtown' in Edgewater.
Chicago and Wabash, downtown? Does the author mean the Loop or enviorns?

[ez duz it]

04:41 PM on 02/12/2011

Hi, 48thGuy—

Oh, mon Dieu! Your comment reminded me of when I lived in Paris and met someone who said he lived on the Boulevard d’Aurelle de Paladines. While what he said was true, I came to find out he was actually two blocks northwest of the Boulevard Périphérique. It drove me “absolument insensé.” What utter nerve…giving the impression he lived in Paris, much less the 17ème arrondissement.

He actually lived in Neuilly-sur-Seine!

A 92200 pretending to be a 75017…can you imagine?!

--ez

[jbern]

05:59 PM on 02/13/2011

So true, but let them come and spend money "downtown" where ever they believe that to be...

[ez duz it]

11:06 AM on 02/12/2011

Hi, matty228--

During winter- and spring-breaks as well as long weekends throughout the year, friends let my partner and me stay in their condo just off Michigan Ave on E Ohio - They're there only a handful of times a year when they use it for business. I'm truly grateful for their hospitality.

I have to say that one of the things I love about Chicago is its walkability, especially along the Lake. Great views of the city as well as the water. For me, there are few pleasures greater than walking from (almost) downtown - up to Lincoln Park, or the Belmont Rocks (if I'm feeling slightly more ambitious) - and back. Also, I love that Fox and Obel is only a couple of blocks away. That there are so many great restaurants only minutes away by foot makes me jealous (I live in St. Louis during the week and Springfield on the weekends).

Chicago is truly a world-class city. I can completely understand why someone from the dreary, homogenized burbs would want to lay claim to downtown :-)

--ez

[zigzag1]

01:23 AM on 02/12/2011

Last time I eat there. My right is to not support bigotry in any form.

[Mahi Joe]

10:49 AM on 02/14/2011

I like your attitude, same as mine. fanned.

[rowdiman]

09:14 PM on 02/11/2011

Am I missing something? Unless they post a sign forbidding certain people from entering I don't see what the controversy is about.

Let's get Rush and Beck off the air before we tackle the fast-food industry.

[Sneedsnood]

11:18 PM on 02/11/2011

If they happen to promote the worst of so-called "Christian" values that include supporting anti-gay causes, then there is every reason in the world to bring the matter to light. I had not heard these things about this company, but now that I have been forewarned, I will be careful about doing any business with them. Do you support bigots?

[rowdiman]

07:34 PM on 02/12/2011

Of course I don't, which is why I'm so concerned about Rush & Beck's homophobic rants.

As for a private business, I don't believe they should be disallowed from opening anywhere in America or else we are getting just as bad as Rand Paul thinking it's ok for drugstores to refuse service to who they dislike.

I won't eat there or let any discriminating business get my $$. Unfortunately, the pocketbook is the only way these people get the message.

[ChiGuy]

07:37 PM on 02/11/2011

This partaker and 'enjoyer' of the occasional fast food is not the least bit interested.

[Mabo]

01:18 PM on 02/12/2011

ditto!

[Ioan Lightoller]

05:36 PM on 02/13/2011

Glad to know they don't care about hate. Maybe if it was directed at THEM, they WOULD.

[FlangeSqueal]

09:27 AM on 03/15/2011

Well, you should be - or you should stop grandstanding, pretending to be a peace-nik by using the peace symbol as your avatar.

Why not use a picture of a who-cares Kardashian sister or, better yet, a preppy Wheaton College "christian", smug and "saved," oozing reptilian Baptist smarmy "charm" ?

[ChiGuy]

11:03 AM on 03/15/2011

I am astonished at how many assumptions you have somehow been able to generate about me based on one comment. And on a one month old thread, no less.

I was stating that I wasn't interested in the company coming to town, and would not be giving them any of my business. And this article pointed out reasons to further justify my decision to not spend a dime there.

Had you taken even 2 minutes to check HP's archive of my comments, you would have found that I am an atheist, a dyed-in-the-wool liberal former Hippie who cut his political activism teeth at the DNC convention riot in Grant Park in 1968 at the age of 14, a staunch supporter/advocate of LGBT causes, and have a downright offensive dislike for people who participate in the celebrity-worship culture.
(Including people who are overly-informed/fascinated with Zara and Mike. Whoever they are. That's right, I actually DID check out your comment archive.)

If you want to talk about oozing, have a peek in the mirror and check out the knee-j*rk judgmentalism emanating from the person looking back at you.

But hey.....Thanks for sharing.

[Stew118]

06:57 PM on 02/11/2011

The Bomb Sandwich.

[tissa]

05:21 PM on 02/11/2011

OMG, I love Chic-Fil-A--I have been driving all the way to Orland Park to get some....I am so glad that they are moving here..my kids love it.
 
I don't care what the owners philosophy is, as long as they are equal opportunity employers--they have to be by law--then all is good.

[AJ Hoffman]

09:10 PM on 02/12/2011

So because they are required by LAW to not to fire someone for being gay or refusing service to someone for being gay, then it's "all good?" WOW. Do you honestly think for one second if the law didn't require those things they would abide by those rules? If you take your kids there all the time, I'm betting they will face discrimination of a different kind if they don't already.

[Ioan Lightoller]

05:39 PM on 02/13/2011

Wish I could fan you again! Of course, it is all good when they arent the ones being oppressed! And I am sure you are right that if they weren't required to serve GLBT people and to retain someone in their employ even if they are GLBT, they wouldn't do that much. Sad that some people only care about discrimination when they or the ones they love are the ones actually on the receiving end of the discrimination.

[Witchhunter]

04:03 PM on 02/11/2011

This is so bogus. Chick-filet is one of the better fast food restaurants in the US. Whethe it is christain, jewish or whatever has nothing to do with its food. They problem with Chick-filet is the mindless people who find PC as the only way to live. Time to get a lift folks!!

[ChiGuy]

07:44 PM on 02/11/2011

"...mindless people who find PC as the only way to live."
___________________________________________

Ask any of my friends, and you would find that I am far from politically correct.

However, if they are in fact discriminatory against ANY group, or trying to proselytizing a particular religious point of view,  that should bother all people. Including you.

That's not political correctness. That's common decency.

[ChiGuy]

07:45 PM on 02/11/2011

Oops. Proselytize.

[Mabo]

09:18 PM on 02/11/2011

They are not trying to proselytize...they are selling chicken sandwiches. The problem some here have with them is that the founders are Christians. They feel that they have a reason to hate someone because of their beliefs. Don't eat at the restaurant if you are worried that a chicken sandwich might share the gospel with you. I haven't had one yet that has...

[Ioan Lightoller]

05:43 PM on 02/13/2011

Why don't YOU get a life?! This company supports discrimination and the denial of rights to a portion of the American public who do them no harm. It is not just PC or whatever you want to dismiss calling these haters on their crap. Are YOU allowed to marry who you want and to have all the rights given to you as a result of that marriage? If you can say yes, then you have no idea of what GLBT people in this country go through.

[FlangeSqueal]

03:56 PM on 02/11/2011

These Cracker Baptist Trash can peddle their yardbird anyplace South of Interstate 80, but I don't think their preachment will go over well in Chi-Town.

Around here, if we want to hear or see cross-eyed Baptists, all we've got to do is take the Union Pacific West Line out to Wheaton College and look at the little zombies in their hoop skirts and saddle shoes, the guys with their butch cuts and not-too-tight Wranglers.


As for the food - stay home and make a boneless breast at your own stove. It'll be both chearer and better.

[Mabo]

09:20 PM on 02/11/2011

Hate speech is hate speech...you've demonstrated it well. Sounds like a bit of racism thrown in to boot. Nice.

[Ioan Lightoller]

05:46 PM on 02/13/2011

Not half what is thrown at us by Xtian wingers on a daily basis.

[antonymous]

03:28 PM on 02/11/2011

We've already been colonized. Integrity is a joke, and independent business has already been hounded out of several parts of the city, especially the Loop. That battle's lost.

All we can ask is that our out-of-town corporate overlords respect our folksy ways. For example, building a tacky freestanding store like the one in the picture that takes up half a block is a definite no-no. And the literal preachiness? Even catering to suburban commuters in the Loop, they won't be in business long if they don't tone that down.

[Mabo]

09:23 PM on 02/11/2011

Do you really believe that, in going into this restaurant, you are going to be preached to? Seriously? Stop reading the anti-Christian hate speech by people posting it on this thread and go into one of these restaurants (you don't even need to buy anything). You will find courteous staff, good food and a clean environment. I haven't had a chicken sandwich yet that has tried to share the gospel with me...I bet you won't either.

[Ioan Lightoller]

05:47 PM on 02/13/2011

Excuse me but putting bible verses on napkins and whatever IS prosletyzing. You Xitans are so used to having control of the conversation that anyone calling you on that bullchit is spewing hate speech.

[Albyj]

03:14 PM on 02/11/2011

Nice moderating, whoever....

[FlangeSqueal]

01:11 PM on 03/13/2011

We moderate ourselves when we talk about people-hating hypocrites like the "christians" that support homophobe garbage peddlers like Chick fil A.

[EmmaLib]

02:15 PM on 02/11/2011

I think it is something for individuals to decide based upon their own understanding. I live in the south now, and while I do not visit the chain regularly, I have found them to produce a good product, in a clean environment, served by reasonably nice people, in a quick manner...... But company policy does not allow it to be open on Sundays, the day of rest!

[Albyj]

02:22 PM on 02/11/2011

You mean, your day of rest.

[EmmaLib]

02:51 PM on 02/11/2011

I never said such a thing, what I said is what the company dictates, not me. Don't be so quick to draw wrong conclusions, it makes you look like a republican or tea-bagger.

[Jericho the Red]

02:53 PM on 02/11/2011

the day of rest for whom/
and in this day of rest, is similar to the torah's day of rest ?

[EmmaLib]

02:57 PM on 02/11/2011

The founder of the chain, is a devout Christian, try and guess who's day of rest he is making reference.

If you can't guess, get back to me.

[Albyj]

01:39 PM on 02/11/2011

I plan on going to Chic-fil-A every Sunday :)

[saveourplanet]

02:19 PM on 02/11/2011

GOOD ONE!