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Chick-fil-A creeps up on Boston
By adamg on Sun, 04/23/2017 - 1:05pm
Fried chicken on the way. Photo by Travel New England.
Mikhaela Houston alerts us that a Chick-fil-A is under construction on Providence Highway, near the Ocean State Job Lot - and the West Roxbury line, which would mark the chain's closest approach to Boston since it was banned here (first by Northeastern and then by the city) for being owned by homophobes.
It's just up the road a bit from where the Hooters is going in where Bugaboo Creek used to be, by one of the entrances to Legacy Place.
The only way it could get closer to Boston would be to take over some space in the self-storage place that is right on the Dedham/Boston line.
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Comments
Isn't this Dedham?
Just over the line from W. Roxbury.
Yes!
Mikhaela wrote "Dedham" and I looked at the photo and thought "Norwood," because apparently my brain can't handle two Ocean State Job Lots within an easy drive of each other. Fixed, thanks for spotting that.
Yay
Chick-fil-A will be so close! I can't wait!
maybe you can eat it while
maybe you can eat it while watching your Bruins in the next round?
oh wait.... HAHAHAAHAHAHAHA!!!
Go Senators!!!
- An Actual Boston Resident (unlike most Bruins fans)
Can you ever stay on topic
Can you ever stay on topic you troll? We're talking about Chick-fil-A, not your mental illness.
sorry..
ok. you win.
what do chik-fil-a and the patriots have in common? leaders at both organizations support bigots!
I support anything that
I support anything that ruffles your chicken feathers sweet pea!
of course you do
even if it makes u a racist, a bigot and a fascist.
stay classy.
Go Bulls!
Even if it makes u a gratuitous, pointless asshole
That's some big talk, coming from someone whose only contribution to Uhub ever is to piss in someone else's punchbowl, just for the sake of doing it. You have zero cred for ever standing up against racists, bigots and fascists -- you just like to wave the flag, any flag, if it gives you a chance to attack someone. For example:
Please stop making such an ass of yourself. We all know that you're not a fan of any sports team; you're just an againsty asshole who knows enough rudimentary google to find out what other teams Boston sports teams are playing this week. A punchbowl-pisser and a sick stupid joke, that's all you are. With "allies" like you, God help the LGBTQ people of the world.
If you are going to play along, try to pay attention
I'm an Avs fan. Our season technically ended 2 weeks ago, but in reality it ended in January.
The Rangers will beat the Sens, and you can be sad then.
-An Actual Hockey Fan who is a true Bostonian (unlike some blow-in from New Hampshire who has little understanding of hockey.)
So pumped that
Chick-Fil-A is opening in Dedham! Everyone's entitled to their own opinion as I'm entitled to cheep fried chicken.
Don't Forget
The waffle fries.
Man, I'm hungry now. Hungry enough to head to Framingham or Burlington? Not yet.
better
Since it's going to be a free standing store and not in a mall they will serve breakfast! Chick-Fil-A breakfast is the best! Mmmm Hash Crowns and a Chick-fil-a Chicken on a biscuit . Yum
(ya I know, I'm a bad gay man by eating there.. but I don't care. It's good chicken)
Would you like them to stop being homophobic?
There's only one way to change their corporate behavior.
I knew someone would say this
I knew someone would call me out on this. Someone always does when I go public about eating there.
But I agree with you, I'd like to see them stop being so anti-gay marriage. And they've thawed just slightly on this issue over the years. They still don't like gay marriage, but it's a free country and they have a right to their opinion, whether I agree with it or not. Just like I have as much of a right to eat where I chose to, whether other people agree or not.
And obviously a boycott isn't working... they've been boycotted for well over two decades now. I remember when I lived in Atlanta in 1995, people were boycotting them back then. So yeah, considering they are expanding above the Mason-Dixon Line (and have had stores above that line for well over a decade), a boycott isn't hurting them very much.
Like many of my gay friends who give me alot of shit for eating there, I'm not going to sit here and argue of the merits on where I spend my money. At the end of the day, it's my money and I can do what I want. And not for nothing.. but it's not like I eat there on a daily basis. Or even a monthly basis. Or even a yearly basis. I think the last time I ate there was well over a year ago when I went to the Burlington Mall. It's a treat I give myself like once a year or less. Eating there just reminds me of a time when I was in my early 20s living in GA and I'd eat there every day for breakfast, which is how I know decent their breakfast is (it's better than McDonald's IMHO). And frankly, it's just good chicken all around, and blows KFC and Popeye's out of the water.
I figure the ~12 bucks they get out of me once every year or so is just pennies on the dollar to their hateful cause. I give alot more money... on a monthly basis.. to other corporations that have far more hurtful agendas. Comcast, Verizon, and a few other mega corps come to mind for this. Just follow the money. And I'm sure if I looked at where a lot of my friends money goes, I'd disagree with a lot of it, but frankly, it's none of my business so I don't.
It really boils down to the phrase "pick your poison". Since it's so infrequent for me, it's OK in my book as a once in a blue moon treat.
Ugh, my mouth is already
Ugh, my mouth is already watering thinking of their breakfast!
I agree with you 100% (as usual), cybah. As a gay man I also get a lot of shit from my friends for loving Chick-fil-A, but they're entitled to their opinions, and it's not like the owners of many other corporations we all pay money to regularly are exactly saints...
Plus, and many people fail to recognize this, but all (IIRC) Chick-fil-A's are franchised, rather than corporately owned. So your boycotts aren't even hurting corporate. They're hurting the franchise owners. And since they only pay the franchise fees to corporate, beyond which their profits remain with the franchisees, boycotts don't really affect them, because plenty enough people are still eating there for them to be able to afford the franchise fees. So all you're doing is not giving your money to whoever owns your local franchise. And, while I don't know anything about the franchisees in New England, when I lived down south the local Chick-fil-A was owned by a really cool open-minded guy, and most of the employees there were not what you would expect... piercings, tattoos, etc. I knew several LGBT people who worked there. I'm sure many other restaurants are the same way... just because he CEO of the company makes some questionable donations, shouldn't reflect badly on local franchisees just trying to make a living selling delicious chicken, because they probably don't share those beliefs.
Think it through.
How do you think Chick-fil-a (corporate) makes their money then? The mother corporation makes money from each of the franchisees. It can be structured in any number of different ways, but if the franchisees are doing poorly, so too will corporate.
And look, franchisees could have chosen to become Burger Kings or Dunkin Donuts or any other number of fast food joints. They chose Chick-fil-a corporate. They too own that decision their business partner makes.
Like I said in my comment,
Like I said in my comment, corporate makes their money from the franchise fees. Even with people boycotting Chick-fil-A, the individual restaurants are still making plenty of money for the franchisees to pay those fees to corporate, with or without your money.
True, if enough people boycotted Chick-fil-A, the franchisees could start doing poorly enough to not be able to afford the franchise fees, but people have been boycotting Chick-fil-A for 20 years and I've never heard of a single one going out of business.
And yes, absolutely, the franchisees chose to become a Chick-fil-A rather than a BK or a Dunk's - probably because they saw money in it. There are already plenty of Dunk's in Massachusetts. And BK has decent coverage too. But Chick-fil-A's are few and far between, thus opening one here became a more attractive business prospect. I guarantee you none of the franchisees in Massachusetts became a Chick-fil-A because the corporate CEO is homophobic. They chose Chick-fil-A as a business decision, with the goal of making money.
Probably not
Probably not, at least not the way you're thinking. The buy-in for a Chick-Fil-A franchise is very low compared to other chains. They make it back later when the cost of consumables is much higher.
DTP
I agree with what you said. I know alot of gay people and gay friendly people who work at CFA. One of which is a DM for stores in out west.
And gee, I wonder if I know you know since bostongayworld can be small at times. You should say hello sometime on social media.
We've got a few mutual
We've got a few mutual friends. Don't think I've actually bumped into you yet though.
Just sent you a request on fb.
Pay no mind to the haters
You like Chick-fil-A and you like dudes. At the end of the day, some may gripe about either one but it's who you are.
No need to justify
No need to justify eating at Chick-fil-A whether your eat there once a month or three times a day.
As a gay man in his 50s I often wish gay men would follow their hearts like us old hippy/Bohemian gays of the 60s and 70s rather than follow the current rigid politically correct mainstream gay platform at the cost of all else. It seems now that anyone who deviates in any
way from the mainstream agenda is immediately branded a 'self loathing gay" rather than living one's life as one personally sees fit, which was the original idea in the first place.
Same
I always strive to think different and not be apart of the pack. I often get chastised for that tho.. its sad that we're no longer a nation of free thinkers, and a nation of pack mentality.
And I 100% agree with what you said.. its the "hippy/Bohemian gays of the 60s and 70s" that started the gay rights movement in the 70s. Without free thinkers, gays still would still be beaten down. (Didn't y'all watch "When We Rise" a few weeks ago?)
and yes I've been called "self loathing" because I don't follow the 'gay mafia' 'pack' mentality. But it's never going to happen.. I was raised by hippy parents to be a free thinker, and that's not going to change anytime soon.
I guess what really gets my goat about the pack mentality is how vapid people are about it. People forget that this country is founded on free will, so why not allow people to do what they want, even if you don't agree with it. You really should only be concerned with what you're doing, and no one else's. But, no, we're too busy screaming at each other in hopes it makes you join the pack. And that's sad.
They're against more than marriage equality
Chick-fil-a donated to the so-called Family Research Council and to Exodus International. You rationalize your support for them however you want, but I wouldn't give them a dime of my money, not if they were the last food on earth.
Beliefs
You don't change someone's beliefs by punishing him/her for speaking about them. You change beliefs by talking, finding common ground. I wish there was no homophobia, but I would rather people speak about their beliefs than stay silent and stew in them.
It's about the money, not the beliefs
If the Cathy family kept their beliefs (and their money) to themselves, that would be one thing. But they don't. They take piles of their wealth and . By spending money at Chick-fil-a, you're helping to fund those donations.
I love Chick-fil-a chicken, for breakfast or lunch. I ate there multiple times a week for years in the 90s. I won't eat there now. It's not that they're bigots -- it's that they spend the money they earn from their customers promoting bigotry.
OK
I support your choice to spend your dollar where you see fit. But you're still likely supporting businesses whose owners donate to organizations that hold anti LGBT beliefs (e.g., tithing or offerings to church, which can be significant sums).
So why just focus on Chick-fil-a? I'd have mad respect for anyone who actively went out into the community and asked business owners about their beliefs and the organizations they support, and then only spent money at businesses that didn't support anti-LGBT groups. But do you know whether the owners at your local Panera or Clover or Qdoba or Chipotle are any better?
OT: Jasper White, we hardly knew ye
"... where Bugaboo Creek used to be, by one of the entrances to Legacy Place."
And where the expensive Jasper White's Summer Shack was.
Never went there. Anybody here ever try it? What did you think of its seafood's quality and value?
Meh
I went there a couple of years ago (the Dedham restaurant) and I wasn't impressed. The original Summer Shack at Alewife is much better.
Meh
The dedham summer shack wasn't great. Though I'd prefer it to hooters. Also not excited about homophobic chicken joints.
How do you know?
How the hell can you tell if a chicken is homophobic?
here's how
Summer Shack
The Dedham Summer Shack just never seemed quite right, for reasons that I can't really explain. I love the one on Dalton St., but try as I might (and I tried several times), the atmosphere just didn't say beachside coma Shack to me. I suspect that spot will be just fine for a Hooters, though.
One guess
They should've gone with animatronic talking fish on the walls.
Not just fried chicken
I absolutely love the chargrilled sandwich. And for those who can't stomach southern sweet tea, go with half sweet half unsweetened.
#eatmorechicken
Menino was way out of bounds
On this.
Agreed
I don't agree with the owners, but if we ban one business for its owners' beliefs, shouldn't we ban all businesses whose owners share that same belief?
Yes!
What Chick-fil-A banned from Boston before or after the former President of the United States "pivoted" his position on the DOMA?
Not about beliefs
This was about their unwillingness to follow the local, state, and national laws about hiring, firing, and forcing people to pray.
Can you give more info?
From what I read, Menino's opposition was because of the owner's beliefs.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/07/26/menino-clarifies-view-stanc...
Happy to be proved wrong if you have more information!
Me, too
I reject Chick-fil-A's hateful ideology, but even more strongly I reject Menino's overreaching usurpation of a power that wasn't his. In the linked article Menino sort of walks-back his threat to use bureaucratic obstruction to accomplish what the law didn't otherwise allow him to do.
It's what Menino did
Speaking of which, there is a large commercial space that is opening up in Roslindale Square. I'm hoping for Brooks Pharmacy to go in there. Just like I hoped 15 years ago.
Me, too
I reject Chick-fil-A's hateful ideology, but even more strongly I reject Menino's overreaching usurpation of a power that wasn't his. In the linked article Menino sort of walks-back his threat to use bureaucratic obstruction to accomplish what the law didn't otherwise allow him to do.
Never banned
Menino made some stupid off-hand comments in the Herald regarding "preventing" Chick-Fil-A from coming to Boston next door to the Boston Public Market.
The next day, dealing with backlash for those comments, he restated his cause and sent an official open letter/statement to the Cathy family stating that he felt their brand of homophobia was an insult to our city and what we stand for, but never said they couldn't come here or that he'd prevent them from coming here or that he had banned them from coming here.
Northeastern had essentially the same fight on their hands with their student body and some faculty. They were going to add a Chick-Fil-A but then decided not to after the students and staff disagreed that they didn't want that brand associated with their school. Since they're a private institute, that was up to them to decide. So, again, no official ban or anything.
Most of the opinion on UHub and elsewhere was: disagree with Chick-Fil-A's owners, speak out against them and their hateful beliefs, refuse to do anything that would make a Chick-Fil-A come to Boston any easier than it has to be for them...fine...but you can't ban them from opening in the city. And basically that was the final outcome of Menino's charge against them.
http://legacy.wbur.org/2012/07/25/menino-boston-memo-gay-marriage-chick-...
Perceptions
Technically, Menino couldn't have banned them, but his comments, which were not just to a Herald reporter, came across as if he thought he could in fact keep them from opening. Since he took down the proposed Brooks Pharmacy in Roslindale Square for less, the bluster was seen as serious enough to make the national news.
Northeastern is a different situation. They are a private entity and the issue was leasing space for food. I would have loved to see Chick-fil-A go in there (I used to hit their food court before going to Matthews Arena) and was sad it didn't happen, but they were within their rights.
No, he wasn't
They refused to agree to follow the labor laws of the Commonwealth.
No they didn't
The "evidence" that they don't abide by any labor laws is scant. They had 2 franchises in the Commonwealth when the downtown location was proposed and zero MCAD complaints.
This was about beliefs, not laws. Menino as mayor was wrong.
Yes! Love it
Yes! Love it
Of course, disagreeing on an
Of course, disagreeing on an issue is not necessarily homophobic.
But...
But supporting the Family Research Council is.
Opinions are one thing
Violating labor laws is another.
Forcing your employees to join christian prayers violates labor laws.
Firing gay people or non christians violates labor laws.
Paying women less than men violates labor laws.
Opinions are like assholes
Everybody has one
Agreed. I didn't know the owner did this.
Didn't know he did this either, but I do know there are openly gay people working for Chick Fil A.
Yeah, so will you be delivering Senator Warren her pink slip?
You get to have your own opinion...
And now that you know they do?
And in many states, they can be legally fired because they're gay.
Are you interested in facts?
OK from your own source:
Same source 'counters' with the following:
In other words: Sure she paid women less, but that's because the men on her staff did more work and/or had higher titles than women. Meaning, Warren disproportionally hires men over women at key (higher) staff positions, and that's why the men are paid more.
And that's okay with her supporters?
Chick Fil A (good eating)
Hooray, cannot wait, I am a chic fil A girl, every time i went to NC that was the first place I stopped. It is a shame that we don't have one in Boston
Are they really that good?
Are they really that good?
I'm interested reading folks' rave reviews of ChickFilA food. I would rarely get them in younger days because there weren't many near where I usually went - two within about 15-20 miles of my home, ~25-35 years ago. I had them once or twice and remember them as being outstandingly... ordinary. Chicken patty on a bun, pretty plain. Have they upgraded their menu since?
Now, if someone would open a White Castle around here - that would be great.
Now, if someone would open a
I had them once or twice and remember them as being outstandingly... ordinary. Small square hamburger on a bun, pretty plain. Have they upgraded their menu since?
White Castle's fries are okay
White Castle's fries are okay, chicken rings & bites & I think they had fish bites are pretty good.
Their burgers have gone down in quality compared to a couple of decades ago. Somewhere along the line they started calling their stuff sliders instead of just being their own thing. I think they lost a little of that je ne sais quoi that made them alluring. You wouldn't want them too often, but sometimes you'd just have that craving for a sackfull - one part hot greasiness and two parts quirkiness (small square patties with the holes, cooked on the griddle with a layer of onions, small enough that you buy them in multiples of two). Especially a late night sort of thing.
Come to think of it, I wonder when they (like so many other chains) switched their deep fryers to "healthier" instead of fat.
They're pretty darned good.
I'm a nugget guy, so I cannot vouch for the sandwiches. They do serve the best nuggets of the major fast food people. The fries are great, mainly because they are waffle cut instead of straight. And, though some people will winch to read this, the staff tend to be really nice. Like, scarily nice.
Would I drive 50 miles for it? No, but sometimes I have the hankering and head up to Burlington. I wouldn't do the same for Sonic in Peabody.
Yes, they are.
Yes, they are.
The nuggets and fries (and basically everything else) are higher quality than any other fast food chain.
And the chicken sandwiches (which they claim to have invented) aren't a patty on a bun. They're actually a breaded chicken breast on a bun, with pickles. It's not a formed patty like you get everywhere else, so each sandwich is different, like you would make at home.
And their breakfast is even better than the rest of the menu. Hands down the best fast food breakfast you could ever find anywhere.
As to upgrading the menu... they actually have changed their menu remarkably little over the years. Some new fancier, 'healthier' things have been added, but the staples have remained.