A new Chick-fil-A opening in Hyde Park is receiving backlash for moving into a prominent LGBTQ+ organization’s building despite the company’s history of anti-LGBTQ+ support.
The new Chick-fil-A is slated to open later this year at 1512 E. 53rd St.—downstairs from Brave Space Alliance, a Black- and trans-led community organization whose leader said they were blindsided by the news.
“We respect the right of businesses to operate, but we also have a responsibility to our community to ensure that they feel safe, valued and supported,” said Channyn Lynne Parker, CEO of Brave Space Alliance. “And Chick-fil-A’s track record creates a level of understandable apprehension among the people Brave Space Alliance serves.”
Concerns around the fast food chain’s lack of support for LGBTQ+ people go back more than a decade to when it was reported in 2011 that its charitable arm, Equality Matters, had donated more than $1.7 million to antigay groups in 2009 alone. In 2012, then-CEO Dan Cathy made comments opposing same-sex marriage.
In recent years, the company has worked to reverse public opinion and created a DEI page on its website that does not directly address the LGBTQ+ community, but quotes founder Truett Cathy as saying “a great company is a caring company.”
Still, such concerns have followed Chick-fil-A, which was sued in 2022 by a transgender woman who said she was fired due to her gender identity and that the company ignored repeated reports of sexual harassment. The woman settled with Chick-fil-A in 2024.
A representative from Chick-fil-A did not address these concerns in an emailed statement to Windy City Times, but said the business “is built to add a positive impact to the communities we serve.
“Our local owner-operators do this by supporting the development of their team members, cultivating relationships with local organizations and businesses, and tailoring philanthropic efforts to meet the local community’s needs,” the spokesperson said.
Still, no one from Chick-fil-A has reached out to engage with Brave Space Alliance, even after Eater Chicago reported on the restaurant opening in the LGBTQ+ center’s building, Parker said.
“I would encourage them to engage with our community in a meaningful way, listen to our concerns and create some concrete steps toward inclusivity,” Parker said. “I really want to hear whether or not they’re going to advocate for policies that help with marginalized communities.”