Days after opening its first U.K. restaurant, Chick-fil-A announces location to close

Chick-fil-A opened the doors of its first United Kingdom restaurant Oct. 10, marking the popular but controversial chicken chain’s second location outside the United States as it seeks to expand internationally. Nine days later, the company announced that it will close the location within six months.

The news came as an LGBTQ group held protests outside the brand-new restaurant at the Oracle Mall in Reading, denouncing the company’s opposition to same-sex marriage. A mall spokesperson told the BBC that the company would not be allowed to stay beyond its initial “six-month pilot period,” calling it the “right thing to do.” But Chick-fil-A said it had always planned to operate there for only a limited time.

“We have been very pleased with the lines since opening Oct. 10 and are grateful for customer response to our food and our approach to customer service,” the company said in an email Saturday, including photos of customers waiting in line. “We mutually agreed to a sixmonth lease with the Oracle Mall in Reading as part of a longer term strategy for us as we look to expand our international presence.”

Reading Pride, a U.K.-based LGBTQ advocacy group, announced its stance against the restaurant’s opening Oct. 14. In a statement shared on Twitter, the group said it was “staunchly opposed to Chick-fil-A setting up shop in the UK and certainly in Reading.”

“The chain’s ethos and moral stance goes completely against our values, and that of the UK as we are a progressive country that has legalized same-sex marriage for some years, and continues to strive towards equality,” the statement said.

The group cited infamous comments Chickfil-A CEO Dan Cathy made in 2012 about believing in the “biblical definition of the family unit.” It also pointed to the company’s donations to organizations such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which says in its statement of faith that marriage is “exclusively the union of one man and one woman.”

Chick-fil-A has defended its giving, telling Business Insider that the money given to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes funds camps its foundation has hosted through a partnership with the organization.