Atlanta, GA — After the second US airport banned the popular chicken sandwich restaurant Chick-fil-A for their financial support of anti-LGBTQ groups, the fast food giant seems to have misfired again with its attempt to rectify the situation.
Plans for a Chick-fil-A restaurant at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport in New York were canceled last week, a New York state lawmaker said. The previous week, the San Antonio City Council voted recently to block Chick-fil-A from opening a restaurant at San Antonio International Airport, citing what it called the company’s “legacy of anti-LGBT behavior.”
Newly released tax filings show that, in 2017, the Chick-fil-A Foundation gave more than $1.8 million to a trio of groups with a record of anti-LGBTQ discrimination. The foundation donated $1,653,416 to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, $6,000 to the Paul Anderson Youth Home, and $150,000 to the Salvation Army and represents a slight increase from the previous year.
The foundation’s funding comes almost entirely from the corporate treasury and shares leadership with the company.
The Flamin’ fi-A to the Rescue
So this week, with much fanfare, Chick-fil-A introduced a controversial sandwich called the Flamin’ fi-A. More baffling, their corporate headquarters called the new offering “a gesture for you people.” According to the chain’s spokeswoman Bethany Millbright, it is the nation’s first sandwich targeted at the LGBTQ community. Something the company takes great pride in.
“We understand that the times are changing, and we here at Chick-fil-A want all of our customers to know we value every human life, even those who choose lifestyles not in accordance with this country’s core Judeo-Christian foundations. Which is why we believe the Flamin’ fi-A is a 100-footer win, as they like to say.”
According to Ms. Millbright, the Flamin’ fi-A will be available in both a spicy chicken and a vegan version, the latter being another first for the restaurant. Chick-fil-A also plans on enforcing is corporate credo of “separate but equal eaters.” The chain will also create separate lines for people “wishing to have a pro and LGBTQ-free purchasing experience.”
“And speaking of 100-footer wins, it’s important to our base customers that they don’t, well you know, come in close contact with people like that,” said Ms. Millbright commenting on the new line system, called ‘biased queuing’ in the company’s employee manual.
The Flamin’ fi-A sandwich is being tested in several markets across the country including Austin, Texas, Emeryville, California and Macon, Georgia.
