Dive Brief:
- Chick-fil-A will open its first locations in the United Kingdom in London, Leeds and Liverpool, in England and Belfast in Northern Ireland, the chain announced Wednesday. The company did not provide expected opening dates for these restaurants.
- The chicken chain will invest $100 million into its U.K. expansion to establish its first major market outside North America.
- In the first two years of its U.K. operations, Chick-fil-A will open five stores, which will employ approximately 400 workers.
Dive Insight:
Chick-fil-A first announced it would return to the U.K. last year as the opening stage in its effort to open markets in Europe and Asia. The company opened a location in Reading, England, in 2019, but left after six months, in part due to boycotts from a local LGBTQ+ organization over owner Dan Cathy’s ties to anti-LGBTQ+ organizations.
Several QSR chains have focused on growth in the U.K., including Wendy’s, which plans to operate 400 units in the market over time, and Dave’s Hot Chicken, which signed a 60-unit deal for the U.K. and Ireland earlier this year.
Chick-fil-A is currently seeking interest from prospective franchisees and from licensing partners like “licensed food service providers and self-operated food service providers in university campuses, airports, healthcare facilities, or business and industry venues.”
In the U.S., Chick-fil-A is looking to different restaurant formats to help spur growth, with a pickup-only store in New York and an elevated drive-thru in Georgia. To support its continued expansion, the brand has invested in new supply chain facilities.
Chick-fil-A plans to supply its U.K. units with “chicken sourced from the U.K. as well as 100% free range eggs raised on farms with welfare certification,” according to the press release.
