Toronto LGBTQ group tells Chick-fil-A to ‘Cluck off’

It’s fried chicken with a side of controversy.

Chick-fil-A opened its first restaurant in Ontario Friday to dozens of hungry fried-chicken lovers, but the American company is taking some heat for its support of anti-LGBTQ groups in the United States.

About 60 demonstrators from the 519 community centre, an LGBTQ advocacy group, gathered in front of the company’s Yonge and Bloor Street location Friday morning to voice their opposition to the chain setting up shop in Canada.

In a news release, the 519 said they are calling their campaign “Cluck Off” — a reference to the restaurant chain’s trademark chicken sandwiches.

“Chick-fil-A’s anti-LGBTQ2S agenda and politics [are] well-documented,” the group said in the release. “This is activation by Army of Lovers, an advocacy campaign of The 519, dedicated to protecting the rights of LGBTQ2S communities.”

It is time for hate and discrimination to #CluckOff. Join us to protest against the opening of Chick-fil-A in Toronto on Friday, September 6.
More details in our detailed announcement: https://t.co/ttztFOD1Aj#LGBTQ2S #Toronto #ArmyOfLovers pic.twitter.com/8uf8VlW1nt

— The 519 (@The519) September 4, 2019

The company is owned by the Cathy family, a billionaire evangelical Southern Baptist clan, which attracted plenty of attention in 2012, when its president Dan Cathy said he believes in the “the biblical definition of the family unit” and said those who “have the audacity to define what marriage is about” were “inviting God’s judgment on our nation.”

When the United States Supreme Court chose to support same-sex marriages in the U.S. a year later, Cathy posted on Twitter that the “founding fathers would be ashamed of our generation” and pronounced it a “sad day for our nation.”

Still, fans of the company’s products lined up down the street despite the protests.

Lee, who didn’t want to give CityNews his last name, said Chick-fil-A is a respectful brand with a good chicken sandwich.

“This brand has done nothing to these people,” he said. “I wanted to get a chicken sandwich and enjoy the craziness of how wrong and hypocritical these people are.”

Wilson Yang, the restaurant’s operator, released this statement to CityNews in response to the protests:

“We want all Torontonians to know they are welcome at Chick-fil-A Yonge & Bloor. We respect people’s right to share their opinions. Our focus is on offering a welcoming and respectful environment for our guests and team members, and we encourage people to give us a try.”

Chick-fil-A previously opened a location at the Calgary International Airport that has since closed, but the company says the Toronto location is the first franchised restaurant in Canada. The company says the restaurant will be closed on Sundays, in line with its policy for U.S. restaurants.

Protesters now blocking customers from entering Chick-fil-A by laying down at the front door pic.twitter.com/FxnqUsgfDU

— Mark McAllister (@McAllister_Mark) September 6, 2019