Chick-fil-A opens second UK site in Scotland

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US fast food chain Chick-fil-A has quietly opened a second UK site at the the Macdonald Aviemore Hotel in the Scottish highlands.

According to Pink News, the restaurant opened earlier this month “to scant fanfare”.

It follows a saga that saw Chick-fil-A open a site within Reading's Oracle shopping centre that was subsequently marked for closure little more than a week later. 

The chicken chain’s reported historic donations to anti-LGBT+ organisations led gay rights charity Reading Pride to call for a boycott of the restaurant, and the Oracle later announced it was not planning to extend the chain’s lease beyond its six-month pilot period.

Regarding the Scottish opening, a Chick-fil-A spokesperson says: “Chick-fil-A is always evaluating potential new locations in the hope of serving customers great food and award winning service.

“The the Macdonald Aviemore Hotel location gives us an opportunity to build our knowledge, continue to learn and gain a stronger understanding of local consumer tastes and preferences as part of our exploration.”

Chick-fil-A was founded in 1967 and operates over 2,000 sites in North America.  

It faced a boycott in the US after its CEO made comments opposing same-sex marriage in 2012, and has been criticised for past donations to organisations with alleged anti-LGBT+ policies. 

The company says it has “no social or political agenda” and focuses its charitable donations on youth and education programmes.