After a failed bid to set up shop in Logan Square, fried chicken sandwich chain Chick-Fil-A is expanding in Chicago — a whole eight-tenths of a mile from its Loyola Water Tower location.
On Wednesday, the company confirmed to NBC Chicago a second spot in the Loop at State and Lake was slated for a mid-summer opening. Both Halsted Street Deli and a Johnny Rockets previously held the space.
Currently, the Chick-Fil-A in the 100 block of East Chicago Avenue, which opened in 2010, is the only one in the city.
Last summer, Ald. Proco "Joe" Moreno (1st) publicly stated he would block the Atlanta-based company from opening a store in his ward citing anti-gay marriage remarks made by Chick-Fil-A CEO Dan Cathy.
"If you are discriminating against a segment of the community, I don't want you in the 1st Ward," Moreno said in July of 2012.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel echoed Moreno's sentiments when he said last July "Chick-fil-A's values are not Chicago values."
When contacted by HuffPost, Ald. Moreno's office declined to comment on the chain's expected expansion to the Loop.
Eater Chicago notes that both the 177 N. State St. spot and the chain's currently existing location are seated in 42nd Ward Ald. Brendan Reilly's district. Both Reilly and Chick-fil-A declined comment to Eater.
Photo by stockmonkeys.com via Flickr.
Related
Before You Go
