Anti-LGBTQ supporter, Chick-fil-A, a fried chicken franchise surrounded with controversies over its stance, has a new location at Serramonte Center in Daly City, according to the Bay Area Reporter.
The new restaurant opened on Thursday, along with the other location at the Century Boulevard and Auto Center Drive in Pittsburg intersection, SFGATE reported.
The new locations pushed the total of Chick-fil-A restaurants in the Bay Area to 21, the company’s website said.
The said fast food chain has been subjected to criticism for its support to anti same-sex marriage groups and those who advocate for conversion therapy programs.
The company’s CEO and president Dan Cathy has personally announced his stand against same-sex marriage during a radio show in 2012.
But the fried chicken franchise was flocked by customers on its opening day last year at Redwood City.
David Canepa, San Mateo County supervisor, stated his disapproval of the new location. He said: “Chick-fil-A’s values don’t represent our values. The logo might as well say, ‘We hate gay people.'”
In Nov. 2019, the company said it will shift the focus of its charitable works to groups “working exclusively in the areas of education, homelessness, and hunger” from their previous support on the groups like the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Its CEO, however, was criticized again over the summer following the revelation of the Daily Beast that he supports the National Christian Charitable Foundation which pushes against bills on LGBTQ+ welfare.
Chick-fil-A also planned to have a restaurant in Castro Bally but Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council and Alameda County turned down the proposal because of traffic congestion concerns.
In a talk with the Bay Area Reporter, District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelmann said he was not informed of the company’s plan to relocate to San Francisco. “My hope would be they would be terribly unsuccessful because the Bay Area would reject what they stand for,” he said.
The fast food chain has its restaurant in Novato, Walnut Creek, Fairfield, Rohnert Park, Vallejo, and Pleasanton.
