An American fast food chain that previously abandoned a move into the UK market after facing protests from gay rights campaigners, has confirmed plans to open in Northern Ireland.
Chick-fil-A has included Belfast in the first set of UK cities where it will seek to open a restaurant early next year.
The 78-year-old Atlanta-based company, which retains many of the values of its Christian founder S. Truett Cathy, previously opened a pop-up site in west London during 2019.
The site in Reading later closed following a backlash from LGBT protesters over the company’s donations to Christian organisations opposed to same-sex marriage.
The company, which later ended donations to anti-LGBT groups, is making another attempt at the UK market, with Belfast, London, Leeds and Liverpool first in line for new venues.
Chick-fil-A to open in Northern Ireland! 😀
— Emma Little-Pengelly BL (@little_pengelly) September 25, 2024
It was great to engage with the company and have the confirmation this morning that Northern Ireland is part of the first wave of UK restaurants 🍗🐔 pic.twitter.com/4GO4YYAcAm
The move has been welcomed by DUP MLA and Deputy First Minister Minister Emma Little-Pengelly.
In a post on social media platform X, she wrote: “It was great to engage with the company and have the confirmation this morning that Northern Ireland is part of the first wave of UK restaurants.”
Chick-fil-A has more than 3,000 restaurants in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico. It has not identified where its Belfast restaurant will be based.
The chain is known for its Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich, which is a breaded, boneless chicken breast served on a toasted bun with pickles, lettuce, tomato, and cheese.
In an unusual approach to business for a large fast food corporation, Chick-fil-A does not open on Sundays.
Its founder S. Truett Cathy, a devout southern Baptist who died in 2014, believed in closing all restaurants on Sundays to allow employees to attend church.
The US outlets also remain closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and promote fish sandwiches during Lent.
It’s the latest North American fast food chicken specialist to make the move into the Northern Ireland market.
It follows Popeyes’ Belfast debut at Forestside last week and the opening of two Mary Brown’s Chicken outlets this year.
Chick-fil-A previously said it planned to invest more than $100 million in a ten year expansion project into the UK market.
Most of the sites are expected to be run and owned as franchises, with around 80 to 120 jobs typically created in each outlet.
The company said around 80% of its franchisees operate only one restaurant, investing in the region of $10,000 (£8,400).
