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Chick-fil-A has announced plans to open its first permanent restaurants in Great Britain and Singapore later this year.<\/p>\n
In an Aug. 26 news release<\/a>, the chicken chain announced it will open its first restaurant in Leeds in the fall, as well as a location in Singapore in late 2025, marking the start of a decade-long, $75 million investment in Asia.<\/p>\n Chick-fil-A outlined plans in 2023<\/a> to open restaurants in Europe and Asia by 2026 and five international locations by 2030, according to a news release at the time. The company announced in 2023 that it planned to open five locally owned and operated restaurants in the United Kingdom in the first two years of the plan and continue to expand in the U.K. from there. All in, the brand plans to invest over $100 million in the U.K. over 10 years.<\/p>\n In September 2024, the company announced it would open new restaurants in Belfast, Leeds, Liverpool and London<\/a>, marking the first locations outside North America for the chain.<\/p>\n \u201cExpanding in both Europe and Asia is a meaningful milestone for Chick-fil-A,\u201d said Andrew T. Cathy, chief executive officer of Chick-fil-A, Inc., in the Aug. 26 news release. \u201cThe investments we\u2019re making in the U.K. and Singapore not only present opportunities for our business, but are also a chance for us to bring what makes Chick-fil-A special to new places \u2013 great food and remarkable hospitality, our unique franchise model and the positive impact we have in communities.\u201d<\/p>\n Both the Leeds and Singapore restaurants will be owned and operated by individuals born and raised in the countries in which they will serve. Chick-fil-A says each restaurant will add between 70 and 120 new jobs through local hires.<\/p>\n \u201cWherever we do business, our unique franchise model and the dedication of our local Chick-fil-A Owner-Operators who are deeply involved in their restaurants every day are the keys to our success,\u201d said Anita Costello, chief international officer for Chick-fil-A, Inc., in the news release.<\/p>\n Chick-fil-A’s history in the UK<\/p>\n The company opened a temporary store in a mall in Reading, England, in 2019 and was quickly met with protests from local LGBTQ+ rights activists.<\/p>\n The Oracle, the shopping mall where the restaurant leased space, did not allow Chick-fil-A to extend its lease beyond the “six-month pilot period,”\u00a0according to the BBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n The BBC reported in 2019 that campaigners from local LGBTQ advocacy group Reading Pride called for people to boycott the chain due to its million-dollar donations to organizations such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the Paul Anderson Youth Home and the U.S. Salvation Army.<\/p>\n According to Reading Pride at the time, all three organizations had a reputation of being hostile to LGBTQ rights.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are staunchly opposed to Chick-fil-A setting up shop in the UK and certainly in Reading,\u201d the group\u00a0said in a 2019\u00a0statement on X, formerly known as Twitter<\/a>. \u201cThe chain\u2019s ethos and moral stance goes completely against our values, and that of the UK as we are a progressive country that has (legalized) same sex marriage for some years, and continues to strive toward equality.\u201d<\/p>\n Later in 2019,\u00a0Chick-fil-A altered its approach to charitable donations<\/a>,\u00a0following criticism from LGBTQ rights groups. In a statement, the company said it will “deepen its giving to a smaller number of organizations” by focusing on education, homelessness and hunger.<\/p>\n “Additionally, the Foundation will no longer make multiyear commitments and will reassess its philanthropic partnerships annually to allow maximum impact,” the company said in the statement. “These partners could include faith-based and non-faith-based charities.”<\/p>\n Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X\u00a0@GabeHauari<\/a>\u00a0or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com.<\/p>\n