There’s a second Chick-fil-A restaurant in the Scottish Highlands and nobody seems to have noticed
Chick-fil-A has donated millions of dollars to anti-gay causes. (Getty)
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.
There’s a Chick-fil-A in Aviemore.
THIS IS NOT A DRILL❤️❤️❤️
— Sarah Hamilton (@sarahkhami) October 12, 2019
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 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.
Just eaten at the @ChickfilA in #Aviemore. Lives up to expectations! pic.twitter.com/eLli9r57cJ— Ed Forsyth (@4sythed) October 16, 2019
“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.
