Chick-fil-A to try again in UK four years after LGBT backlash

Four years after failing to launch Chic-Fil-A in the UK, the American fast food chain will try again. 

The junk-food restaurant wants to open five restaurants in the UK – no sites have been chosen just yet, but the first will open in early 2025. 

In 2019, the company attempted to get into the UK market but faced a boycott over its founders’ support for Christian groups opposed to same-sex marriage. 

The firm is still run by the Cathy family – who founded it, but has made a policy change in recent years. 

It appointed its first head of diversity in 2020 and has changed its approach to charitable giving, focusing on education and hunger alleviation. 

The family’s Christian values mean restaurants do not open on Sunday – a policy that will apply in the UK. 

“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,” said Joanna Symonds, Chick-Fil-A’s head of UK operations.

“We encourage our operators to partner with organisations which support and positively impact their local communities, delivering great food and wider benefits to those around them,” she added.