Way back in 2023 Time Out covered the news that legendarily juicy American chicken shop brand Chick-fil-A would be opening restaurants in the UK. The chain operates more than 3,000 sites in the USA, Canada and Puerto Rico – and its UK restaurants will be its only ones outside North America.
Last October we found out exactly where Chick-fil-A’s first five UK restaurants will be, and now we have more details. They’ll all open across the next two years, and be part of a plan to invest more than $100 million (£75.43 million) into its UK market over the next decade.
So, without further ado, the new Chick-fil-A branches in the UK will be in… Belfast, Leeds, Liverpool and London.
Belfast was the first British city to receive a Chick-fil-A branch, with the restaurant opening in January 2025. The Northern Irish capital now has two outposts of the chicken chain, and next up is Leeds. The Yorkshire city will get a Chick-fil-A this autumn, and the new restaurant will create between 70 and 120 local jobs.
Devoted Chick-fil-A fans will know that these upcoming branches aren’t the first time the chain has tried to break into the British market. Back in 2019 it opened in Reading, though that restaurant was shut down LGBTQ+ campaigners. A second opened in Aviemore in Scotland, though that also only ran for three months until January 2020. Activists objected to the chain’s founders' support for Christian groups opposed to same-sex marriage – though Chick-fil-A has apparently since cut funding to those groups.
You can find out more about Chick-fil-A’s controversies here.
American fast food in the UK
Chick-fil-A isn’t the only US food chain with its eyes on the UK. Popeyes is currently expanding across the country, as is Carl’s Jr and Dave’s Hot Chicken.
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