San Antonio Airport Bans Chick-Fil-A, Days After A Report Shows The Company Still Donates To Anti-LGBTQ Groups
The San Antonio airport has banned Chik-fil-A from the premises, days after a report indicated that the company is still donating money to causes with anti-LGBTQ sentiments, despite the fast food chain’s claims that they would no longer do so.
As WAOI-TV reports, on Thursday, the San Antonio City Council prepared to vote on an agreement that would bring Paradies Lagardère, an international management group representing restaurants and retail shops operating out of airports, to the city’s international airport. However, District 1 City Councilman Roberto Treviño wanted to make sure that the management group wouldn’t bring in Chick-fil-A.
That motion was approved, according to U.S. News & World Report, effectively banning the fast food chicken restaurant from the San Antonio airport.
Treviño said the decision is an extension of San Antonio’s reputation as a city that welcomes all.
“With this decision, the City Council reaffirmed the work our city has done to become a champion of equality and inclusion. San Antonio is a city full of compassion, and we do not have room in our public facilities for a business with a legacy of anti-LGBTQ behavior.”
Paradies Lagardère’s offerings for food concessions at the airport will now include The Luxury, Smoke Shack BBQ and Southern Kitchen, Boss Wood Fired Bagels & Coffee, Sip Brew Bar and Market, and Local Coffee, in addition to a couple of retail spots. The empty space that would have gone to Chick-fil-A will remain empty until a decision is made on what to do with it.
A motion has been made to approve the Food, Beverage and Retail Prime Concession Agreement with Paradies Lagardère at the San Antonio International Airport, provided that it exclude the Chick-fil-A concept, officials say. https://t.co/kLyo9dQcx4
— KSAT 12 (@ksatnews) March 21, 2019
Mayor Ron Nirenberg didn’t mention Chick-fil-A directly, but did praise the agreement for bringing in restaurants that capture the city’s local flavor.
“Giving [passengers] an opportunity to taste some of our city’s finest local culinary delights at the airport will enhance the city’s appeal encouraging further exploration and longer stays.”
Meanwhile, a Chick-fil-A spokesperson said that the company was blindsided by the decision.
“This is the first we’ve heard of this. It’s disappointing. We would have liked to have had a dialogue with the city council before this decision was made.”
Earlier this week, as reported by The Inquisitr, Think Progress reviewed the 2017 tax filings of the WinShape Foundation, Chick-fil-A’s charitable arm, and found that the company is still donating to entities with anti-LGBTQ sentiments. Following a 2012 dustup following statements against same-sex marriage by company COO Dan Cathy, and later findings that WinShape donated millions to anti-LGBTQ groups, the company promised to stop donating to such groups.
However, in 2017, the company donated millions across three groups with anti-LGBTQ sentiments. $6,000 went to a Georgia youth home that teaches that same-sex marriage “is a rage against Jesus Christ and His values”; $1,653,416 went to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which has a “sexual purity” clause in its employee handbook that prohibits “homosexual acts” among its employees; and $150,000 was donated to the Salvation Army, which has a history of opposition to same-sex marriage and homosexuality.
