US fast food giant Chick-fil-A is aiming to avoid another backlash over the anti-gay views of its billionaire owners when it opens in the UK next year.
Chick-fil-A scrapped its Reading pop-up site after just six months when gay rights campaigners targeted it in 2019.
But the Atlanta-based restaurant chain has been in talks with LGBT group Stonewall and other charities in a bid to distance itself from accusations of homophobia.
The company was founded in 1946 by devout Christian S Truett Cathy and is the third largest fast-food chain in the US by sales.
It has more than 3,000 sites in America and has launched in Canada – where it also faced backlash from LGBT campaigners – and Puerto Rico in the last five years.
Despite the popularity of its chicken sandwiches, comments and donations made by the Cathy family, who still own and run the business, have triggered controversy.
Protests: Chick-fil-A scrapped its Reading pop-up site after just six months when gay rights campaigners targeted it in 2019
They have historically donated to various organisations that have been linked to anti-LGBT beliefs.
And chairman Dan Cathy, father of chief executive Andrew Cathy, revealed his opposition to gay marriage in 2012.
But the business has been in talks with Stonewall about how to be ‘a more inclusive workplace’ ahead of another bid to conquer the competitive British market.
A Stonewall spokesman said: ‘We frequently have conversations with companies and organisations at various stages on their journey to becoming more inclusive workplaces for their employees.
Outspoken: Chairman Dan Cathy
‘We have had some recent conversations with Chick-Fil-A about the training and services we could provide to support the company on this journey.’
When asked about the controversy ahead of the UK launch, Chick-fil-A international vice president Paul Trotti told the Mail that the firm’s ‘desire is to be inclusive to all people and to treat all people with honour, dignity and respect’.
Launching in the UK comes with other challenges including tough competition from the likes of KFC and Nando’s, and recent American imports Popeyes and Wingstop.
Chick-fil-A believes its ‘unique’ owner-operator franchise model, its focus on fresh ingredients and its trademark Southern hospitality will set it apart.
Trotti said: ‘The UK place in the world market is something that we absolutely can’t ignore as we think about wanting to be a global business.’
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