There’s a second Chick-fil-A restaurant in the Scottish Highlands and nobody seems to have noticed

Chick-fil-A

While the opening of anti-LGBT+ fast-food chain Chick-fil-A in England prompted pushback this month, another branch opened quietly in Scotland and it seems nobody noticed.

Macdonald Aviemore Resort saw a branch open earlier this month to scant fanfare.

With beautiful views of secluded lochs, glistening lakes and ancient forests, hotel-guests can now sit back and relax in a chicken shop that donates to an array of homophobic organisations and charities, the Strathspey and Badenoch Herald reported.

For years the Baptist-owned food chain has given millions of dollars to anti-LGBT+ organisations, leading to protests, boycotts and several new US branches banned from being opened.

When Reading, England, locals woke up to the news that Chick-fil-A was opening a branch there earlier this month, it sparked uproar that resulted in its lease not being extended beyond the first six months.

Chick-fil-A opens silently in Scotland and has ‘proved very popular’.

PinkNews reached out to the hotel’s front-desk where an employee confirmed its operation.

It opened “around three weeks ago”, local papers reported.

A Macdonald Hotel spokesperson told the Herald on October 23: “A Chick-fil-A location has opened at our Macdonald Aviemore Resort.

“Chick-fil-A has already proved very popular with our guests and we are happy to be able to provide this quality food expense as an option.”

Information on the Chick-fil-A branch is scarce, other than a single review for the hotel on Booking.com. (Booking.com)

Information on the Chick-fil-A branch is scarce, other than a single mention in a review for the hotel on Booking.com and a handful of tweets. (Booking.com)

While a Chick-fil-A spokesperson said: “Chick-fil-A is always evaluating potential new locations in the hope of serving customers great food and award-winning service.

“The Macdonald Aviemore Resort gives us an opportunity to learn and gain a stronger understanding of local consumer tastes and preferences as part of our ongoing exploration.”

However, the Atlanta-based company has proved sour for English locals, bitter over the corporation’s anti-LGBT+ history.

Campaigners pelted the Reading branch with protests and petitions calling for its removal. A demonstration last weekend even saw RuPaul’s Drag Race UK’s Sum Ting Wong show her support.

Macdonald Hotels did not immediately respond to comment requests from PinkNews.

The US fast-food chain has a long history of supporting anti-LGBT+ causes.

In 2013, it was reported that the chain’s anti-LGBT+ donations had almost doubled. The Chick-fil-A Foundation donated almost $3 million to an anti-marriage equality organisation in 2011.

In 2012, Chick-fil-A boss Dan Cathy confirmed that the chain is against same-sex marriage. He later said he regretted getting the company entangled in controversy surrounding LGBT+ rights, but said his views had not changed.

“The bottom line is we have a responsibility here to keep the whole of the organisation in mind and it has to take precedence over the personal expression and opinion on social issues,” he said.

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