Chick-fil-A Has Seen the Light and it Shines For Gays Too
Contrary to critics on both sides but particularly gays (my community) that thought that one should remain silent when a giant company publicly comes after our buds figuratively speaking. A the beginning when the comments from a homophobe CEO went public this blog and many people that understand change knew that we had to publicly oppose this man because change is not instantaneous and it usually comes from within. As Chick-fil-A became more successful the taste of money requires more money otherwise you can not be in business. For Chick-fil-A to have their 10 year old plan to take over the fast food chicken market would meant competing in the North East and in those states where civil and human rights play very well and public opponents of them do not.
Anybody can go to the south and display a rebel flag and call Rosa Parks a communist anti christ. Do the same thing in New York and states surrounding and see what happens!
This is what Chick-Fil-A did . Protected in the south the CEO felt he could do almost anything. The old fashion entrepreneur CEO believes he can do and say anything because up too that time the winds have been with him. But when you rock the boat and start making changes to the compass, things as a matter of science can not stay the same. With Chick-fil-A they came to the place wether they would stay in the south just like they were, waiting for a McDonalds or some other company to either take them over or just leave them behind in revenues or be the company they wanted to be despite of religion, sexual orientation and skin color(like they did before and just sell f**** chicken. Well they saw the chicken sun early in the morning and they figured it shines for us all.
Wether the CEO of C f-A Dan Cathy remained anti gay or not was not going to be the point. The point was and is that the company had to change in order to stay in business for the future and become a US leader not just selling chicken in the south but coming out with new ideas for the whole country and in that recepe there had to be diversity and an eye open opening moment in which the top management team together with Cathy had to endorse it, say they made a mistake in 2012, be open about it and move on and never again touch that third rail.
The issue of this company is a learning lesson not to the season gay activist which he/she knows how things evolved but for those closeted gays that wish that everybody went back to being closeted because it bothers them that the talk of the town is about “gays.” Gay is a word that scares them because they don’t understand how in the world they ended up being gay when they wanted to be like everybody else. But so too the American that wishes we were still part of England and the English that does not understand how they went from a world empire to an Island in Europe.
No matter how much we and they deny the obvious they world has change and is in the process of more change. Those that like the past should be thankful for HD movies because is not coming back. Those that want to be quiet about the historical changes in which sexuality is not part of it need to deal of the now revolution and be advised that revolutions are not neat and bloodless. There would be a lot of talk of sex and more sex, gay, bi., etc. Instead of joining the enemy and do the criticism thing of we are going thru(change and liberation) it would be more helpful to them to take the long view of things and a little study of the past would make a world of good but focus on the price. The Crittism of gay activist which played very little role, on the resignation of anti gay Mozilla’s CEO. The change came within. He could say whatever he wants of the gay activists but the change came because is not plausible for a major CEO of a Publicly held company and sometimes privately to come out against biface marriages or gay marriages. If they oppose it more power to them, but big companies become big and stay big by being inclusive. Companies are in business for profits and what ever barrier that stands in between them and profit is their heavily mission to try to remove them legally. This is what happened to Mozilla.
Coming back to chicken…..
Included in todays postings I review the history of the gay movement when it used to be called “Gay Liberation.” Mandated reading material to the ones that criticize what others accomplish, not what they accomplish because they criticize from either the closet or the sidelines.
Chick-fil-A is finally crossing the road.
The iconic chicken chain, as well-known for its conservative heritage as its savory eats, is recalibrating its moral and culinary compass. It wants to go from old school to almost cool. It wants to evolve from a place where gays once picketed to a place where they'll feel comfortable going to eat. It wants to broaden the brand as it expands nationally and plows into the Millennial-driven urban arena. Above all: it wants to be a serious player on fast-food's biggest stage.
USA TODAY was exclusively invited inside to visit the company's sprawling, wooded campus, get the first look at its new test kitchen, tour its store-of-the-future development facility and interview Chick-fil-A's controversial CEO Dan Cathy. Cathy, whose comments condemning gay marriage in 2012 set off store picketing and a social media firestorm, has now fully backed away from such public pronouncements that mix personal opinion on social issues with corporate policy.
"All of us become more wise as time goes by," he says, apologetically, in a rare, one-hour sit-down interview. “We sincerely care about all people.”
About two years ago, Cathy made headlines after conceding to being "guilty as charged," in confirming Chick-fil-A's support of the traditional family. Both ardent supporters and angry picketers showed up at stores. While Cathy's comments didn't hurt short-term business — and even helped it — Chick-fil-A executives recognize that the comments may have done longer-term damage to the brand's image at the very time it was eyeing major growth outside its friendly Southern market.
The national growth is about to go into overdrive — and it has a huge, new product platform behind it. Its biggest-ever new product roll-out will be announced Tuesday: a Millennial-targeting grilled chicken line for which the company has spent the past 12 years testing more than 1,000 grilled chicken recipes and developing such super-secret grilling equipment that executives won't let it be photographed.
Chick-fil-A's food, long-regarded as extra savory but nutritionally naughty, is going through an industry unprecedented "cleaning" cycle, with an ultimate aim of improving its brand image with trend-setting Millennials. Last month, it announced plans to sell only antibiotic-free chicken within five years. It's testing the removal of high fructose corn syrup from all dressings and sauces and artificial ingredients from its bun. Designers are trying to figure out how to remove fast-food's tell-tale plastic from Chick-fil-A stores — even from its serving trays.
The once-tiny, regional chain just surpassed giant KFC to become the nation's largest chicken chain in domestic sales. But along with this sales and geographical growth comes a new social consciousness. That's not by accident, says Christopher Muller, professor of hospitality at Boston University. "The politics of their Southern Baptist values will not transcend their core markets," he says.
Chick-fil-A's socially conservative agenda, which formally led the company to donate millions to charitable groups opposed to gay marriage, has been tempered. This, just as the company aims to quickly expand into Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. Southern hospitality must give way to urban reality as the 1,800 store chain moves to compete with big city success stories like McDonald's, Panera Bread and Chipotle.
If nothing else, Cathy has listened. In 2012, Cathy not only heard from some unhappy consumers about his comments against gay marriage, but also from some store operators and employees. Now, he says, "I'm going to leave it to politicians and others to discuss social issues."
That's precisely what experts are advising. "He should put this as far behind him as fast as he possibly can," says Gary Stibel, CEO of New England Consulting Group.
One past critic has even become an unlikely fan. "Dan and I have an ongoing friendship," says Shane Windmeyer, executive director of the gay rights advocacy group Campus Pride. "I am appreciative for the common ground we have established in treating all people with dignity and respect — including LGBT people."
Which means Chick-fil-A can focus on what matters most: the food and growth. The privately-held company, whose sales last year reached $5.1 billion — up 9.3%, reports the research firm Technomic — may rank among the most intriguing growth stories in fast food. Imagine this: A typical Chick-fil-A racked up annual sales of about $3.3 million last year, while a typical McDonald's posted sales of about $2.5 million. Never mind that Chick-fil-A is closed Sundays.
"The next big thing is urbanization," says Cathy, 61, who tools around on his Harley-Davidson in his spare time. "That's where the future is heading."
So, the company that has spent 68 years building its stores inside suburban malls and near big-box retailers is mostly tossing out those plans. Now it wants to focus on big cities and big-city dwellers.
It's working. There were lines out the door when it first entered the Chicago market about three years ago, and business is still strong, says Bob Goldin, executive vice president at Technomic. "They have a cult following no matter where they go," he says. Sure, big city real estate is more expensive and the competition will leave battle wounds, "but Chick-fil-A is a proven winner."
"The challenge in business is to stay ahead of the curve," Cathy says. For Boomers, fast food was all about taste and price, he says. But for Millennials, he notes, it's also about local sourcing, product quality and worker rights. For them, he says, "it's not just a product story any more — but the whole story."
Which is why Chick-fil-A removed yellow dye from its chicken soup late last year. And it's why the chain has just begun testing a line of fruit smoothies made with spinach and carrots.
This is the same company whose chief spokesman is a cartoon cow whose singular message for almost two decades has never changed: "Eat Mor Chikin." And it's the company in which 93-year-old founder, S. Truett Cathy, Dan's father, still keeps an expansive office, replete with photos of himself with George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Billy Graham and Pat Boone.
But if Chick-fil-A could frame a new photo of who matters most to the company, it might be someone such as 23-year-old Kelli Means-Cheeley. The Atlanta resident and recent college graduate stopped by a bustling Chick-fil-A near Atlanta's airport and offered a thumbs-up after sampling the new grilled chicken. Healthy food ingredients are critical to Means-Cheeley, but, she says, "what's also important to me is taste."
Chick-fil-A gets that. That's why the company just plopped down $10 million to open the test kitchen. "I think of it as a revenue generator," says David Farmer, vice president of product strategy and development. "How long will it take to generate $1 billion in sales out of here?" he asks.
Perhaps not too long. A new line of iceberg lettuce-less salads, developed right before the company opened its new test kitchen, boosted annual salad sales by 50% to $250 million, Farmer says.
Until now, the key rule for new products was that they had to be "cravable," Farmer says. While they still have to be cravable, he says, there's an increasing emphasis on them also being healthy.
"People aren't just worried about calories, but about clean ingredients, too," he says. "Our customers are asking questions they never asked before."
Ultimately, the chain plans to make that new transparency more literal.
That's the task of the chain's new design innovation center, known internally as The Hatch. It's only been open about 18 months, but it's filled with designers trying to mold new Chick-fil-A prototypes from styrofoam blocks. Among their chief goals: to open up the kitchens. They want consumers to be able to watch dough being rolled into biscuits and salads being freshly chopped.
Chick-fil-A will open 108 restaurants this year — most of them urban and a good chunk of them in New York City, says Woody Faulk, vice president of design and innovation. "If we can't do it in New York, we have no business going anywhere else."
The new urban locations will have much more natural wood. And some of the urban chefs are even replacing their old uniforms with snazzy chefs coats.
This new Chick-fil-A is striving to be very different from what was. "We're one foot out of fast food," Faulk says.
In its rush to grow up, perhaps the biggest challenge for Chick-fil-A will be crossing the road — without tripping over its own feet.
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