After being in the works for over a year, the Chick-fil-A franchise located in Kitchener will finally open its doors on Saturday.
The chicken chain will be open from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday on Fairway Road next to Farmboy.
The company is expected to employ around 100 full- and part-time staff at its Kitchener location.
It also says it will award 100 local heroes who are making an impact in the community with free Chick-fil-A for a year.
The controversial restaurant chain opened its first Canadian franchise in Toronto in 2017, drawing droves of protests from LGBTQ2 and animal rights groups.
In 2017, a report came out that said the company had donated $1.8 million to charitable organizations with anti-same-sex marriage stances.
In an effort to end protests and broaden its customer base, the company announced in 2019 that it would halt donations to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Salvation Army in 2020. The two charities are known to oppose same-sex marriage.
While the protests were taking place, hundreds of other people lined up around the block in an effort to get a chance to sample Chick-fil-A’s food.
The company opened its first location in Atlanta in 1946 and has since grown to more than 2,600 restaurants, most of which are located south of the border.
Chick-fil-A has also attempted to expand to the United Kingdom but has been forced to close a restaurant in London and one in Edinburgh due to protests.
The local restaurant will be operated by Olivia Efford, who the company says is from the Greater Toronto area. The University of Guelph grad worked at both of the restaurant’s Toronto locations.
Comments