Some great news for the denizens of New York City… or at least some of the less woke ones. Chic-fil-A, the makers of some of the tastiest chicken sandwiches this side of Heaven, will be opening up a new outlet on W. 43rd and Eighth Ave. in the Big Apple. It’s part of a refurbishment project for an existing building and they will share the space with a few other businesses. You can almost smell the chicken (and the inevitable protests) already. (NY Post)
Chick-fil-A will be making its appearance in Times Square later this spring. The chain, known for its “Eat mor chikin” billboards and cow mascots, has leased a space that is part of The Hive on the southwest corner of West 43rd Street at 675 Eighth Ave.
The Hive is a three-building renovation underway that includes 303 W. 42nd St. which is next to and wraps around the rear of the Duane Reade on the northwest corner of Eighth Avenue.
The chicken outlet will be opposite the Westin Times Square across Eighth Avenue.
You just know this is going to turn into a clustercluck, if you’ll pardon the phrase. But I would suggest that this is a phenomenon that only applies to new franchise locations. Allow me to explain.
Any Chic-fil-A outlet that was already established in a particular location and has become a fixture with the locals doesn’t seem to be as much of a target for the LGBTQ lords and ladies of cancel culture. After a while, all of the residents and employees of local businesses get used to having ready access to the incredible food and they’re quite put out if someone tries to shut it down.
But if it’s a new location, there is no immediate local following. That makes it easier to bring on the social justice warrior armies and attempt to pressure local politicians into helping block the business. We’ve seen this plenty of times over the past couple years, particularly at airports. The mobs managed to prevent the opening of a new outlet at the San Antonio airport in Texas. The airport in Buffalo, New York quickly followed suit. Heck, the LGBTQ cancel culture madness even spread all the way to Canada.
Even in the very liberal streets of New York City, however, the older Chic-fil-A outlets were never closed down. There are currently seven of them in operation around the city. But it’s a pretty safe bet that eight will be a pink bridge too far. Now that the word is out that the hated symbol of gay intolerance (which is the furthest thing from the truth since they happily both serve and employ LGBTQ customers and staff) is coming to a new spot in the city, the mass-produced protest signs will begin rolling off the printers and the “action network” text messages and emails will be going out.
I’d love to wrong about this and who knows? Maybe I will be. But I kind of doubt it. I’ve been dealing with New Yorkers for most of my life while marking a great distinction between upstate folks and city dwellers. And the 21st century woke patrol in Gotham is pretty much as predictable as a swiss watch. But hey… let’s give them one more chance to prove me wrong.
