Chick-fil-A looks to land in Hub
Back Bay location eyed, but some are crying fowl
Chick-fil-A –- once banned in Boston — has hatched a new plan to open a location in the city.
But the controversial sandwich chain’s game of chicken with City Hall isn’t over yet. The proposed Copley Square eatery must still go through a licensing review before those who are not offended by the upper management’s politics and religion will be free to “Eat Mor Chikin.”
“We are always looking for new opportunities to serve Massachusetts customers and are excited about the prospect of joining the Back Bay neighborhood,” said Hannah Wagner, a spokeswoman for Chickfil-A.
The Georgia-based fastfood chain said it plans to open its first Boston location at 569 Boylston St. currently occupied by fast-casual restaurant Boloco.
Meg Mainzer-Cohen, president of the Back Bay Association, said Chickfil-A “has chosen a good location. It’s a very welltraveled area and near the MBTA.”
In 2012, Chick-fil-A CEO Dan T. Cathy drew ire of political activists with his public opposition to samesex marriage. Around the same time, Chick-fil-A was looking at locations here, but the late Mayor Thomas Menino publicly rebuked Cathy in a letter to the company, saying, “There is no place for your company” in Boston.
Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s office said yesterday it would soon issue a statement about Chick-fil-A’s proposed move into Boston’s fast food scene.
“Please don’t allow Chickfil-A to open within the Boston city limits,” one Twitter user wrote to Walsh. “The clear homophobia of the CEO/culture of this restaurant is not in line with the tolerance Boston stands for. Continue to uphold Boston’s values please.”
Mainzer-Cohen said in her discussions with the company about the Menino incident, “It sounds to me they have dialed back with their political activism and focused on chicken and good food. It’s a learning experience. People can chose to frequent that res- taurant or not.”
Martyn Roetter, chairman of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, said the company reached out in September and “made their presentation in terms of operations and architectural designs.”
“We’re not involved in commenting of the the particular belief of people who own the business or whether their plans will be successful,” Roetter said.
The fried chicken sandwich chain currently has 11 locations in Massachusetts, including Dedham, Hyannis, Burlington and Worcester.