Sudden shift

THE LATEST fast food business reports show Chick-fil-A is growing like a weed. The reason? People like friendly customer service. The friendlier the better.

But the restaurant chain has long made its principles known through its mission statement. Being closed on Sundays and charitable donations have made it a target, if you can believe that. The more progressive crowd didn’t like the fact that Chick-fil-A donated to groups advocating for traditional marriage policies.

A number of failed boycotts have shown progressives are powerless to shape opinions in Chick-fil-A’s owners. And that unapologetic stance won it a very faithful following. But now that’s changing . . . for some reason. Chick-fil-A is no longer donating to a number of charities that have stances LGBTQ+ folk consider unfriendly. Here’s more from CNBC:

“The fast-food chain’s foundation has donated millions of dollars to the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Both organizations have a history of opposing same-sex marriage.

Chick-fil-A said it no longer funds the organizations.”

Chick-fil-A’s statement on the matter seems fairly matter of fact:

“We made multi-year commitments to both organizations and we fulfilled those obligations in 2018,” a spokeswoman for Chick-fil-A told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, adding the company would focus its giving on “education, homelessness and hunger.”

The Washington Times was quick to pounce on Chick-fil-A’s decision, calling it a “shameful capitulation in the culture war.”

Could be that. Or could be just what the company said.

Certainly the chicken restaurant has learned by now that you can’t please everyone. But as it is a private company, Chick-fil-A’s owners are free to decide how their money is spent.

Our considered opinion? If you don’t like what a restaurant does, don’t spend money there. The free market is the most powerful force in deciding if a business lives or dies. Vote with your wallet. That’s where the real power resides.