Plans for a Chick-fil-A location at the Denver International Airport have been placed on hold after members of the city council last week objected to anti-gay views of the chain’s owner.
Robin Kniech, the first openly gay member on the Denver City Council, was the first to protest a Chick-fil-A location at the airport during the council’s Business Development Committee meeting on Tuesday, the Denver Post reported. She said she was concerned that the airport location would add to “corporate profits used to fund and fuel discrimination.”
Councilman Paul Lopez also opposed opening a franchise of the chain, calling it a “really, truly a moral issue on the city,” according to the Denver Post. Ten of the 13 committee members attended the meeting on Tuesday, and none of them spoke to defend Chick-fil-A, according to the Post.
The fried chicken chain previously occupied a concession in the Denver airport about 10 years ago. Mike De La Rosa, the president of Delarosa, one of the companies in charge of the concession location at the airport, said that Delarosa, along with another company, was in charge of hiring for the concession and that Chick-fil-A would get seven percent of royalties from the location.
“We have a long history of diversity, all those kind of things, between both companies. These would not be issues,” De La Rosa said, according to the Denver Post.
Dan Cathy, the CEO of Chick-fil-A is known for his opposition to same-sex marriage. He published a tweet in 2013 scolding the Supreme Court for expanding federal recognition of gay marriage, calling it a “sad day for our nation.” Foundations associated with the company have also made donations to anti-gay groups.
Cathy in 2014 said that while he still opposes gay marriage, he planned to no longer discuss politics. The foundations linked to Chick-fil-A also reduced their donations to groups opposed to LGBT rights in 2012, according to a 2014 ThinkProgress report.
In a statement to The Denver Channel, Chick-fil-A said the company is “focused on serving great food and providing remarkable service to every single customer.”
The Denver City Council’s Business Development Committee will discuss the contract for the airport concession and Chick-fil-A again on Sept. 1, where the city’s attorneys may speak to the members about the legal issues surrounding the contract, according to The Denver Post.
“providing remarkable service”. Is that why you’re not open on Sundays?
Also, confirm/deny rumors that every kids meal comes with a free GodHatesFags coloring book?
I am a middle-aged gay man who never goes to Chick-fil-A. However, I will speak up on their behalf here. All being equal, so long as the business is (will) follow all city ordinances regarding employment non-discrimination, etc., and all other laws, and they have met all requirements to pass muster with building design, conforming to standards within the airport, etc., I see no reason not to grant them the right to open a site there.
I personally find Mr. Cathy’s attitudes toward me repugnant – but in the business realm, so long as all employment, pay wages, non-discrimination laws, local ordinances–all business stuff–is being met, and all else being equal (meaning other entities have had an equal chance at the spot), then there is NO logical or moral reason to turn them down.
Consequences—deal with it. I do wish the owner had kept his stupid mouth shut about his irrational hatreds, because to be honest it’s a pretty good sandwich and I miss eating them. : (
I’ve heard of discrimination issues in employment related to the gay and non-Christians but I don’t have any specifics or anything to cite. And they are franchised so I’m assuming the problems aren’t nationwide.
I appreciate your being able to see this from two different viewpoints, all things considered. And I don’t disagree with what you’re saying. But having a presence in a busy airport is a privilege for a business like this, and the people making that decision might figure they could find somebody just as good whose owners keep their prejudices to themselves.