Chick-fil-A franchise to co-sponsor New Hampshire LGBT Pride event

[kpete]

Source: LBGTQNation

Chick-fil-A franchise to co-sponsor New Hampshire LGBT Pride event

By Brody Levesque



NASHUA, N.H. — The sole Chick-fil-A restaurant in New Hampshire, located in the food court of the Pheasant Lane Mall south of Nashua, will be one of the co-sponsors for New Hampshire LGBT Pride Fest 2012.

The announcement by franchise general manager Anthony Picolia came as a surprise to Pride Fest organizers in light of the ongoing public relations debacle over the negative remarks by Chick-Fil-A’s President last month regarding same-sex marriage.

Picolia, in an email to LGBTQ Nation on Tuesday, confirmed that his franchise will sponsor the festival, writing:

“In both my personal and professional life, I have had and continue to have positive relationships with family, friends, customers and employees in the LGBT community. It would make me sad if someone felt that they were not openly welcomed into my life or restaurant based on their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender,”



Read more: http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2012/08/chick-fil-a-franchise-to-co-sponsor-new-hampshire-lgbt-pride-event/

[wicket]

1. Excellent! (nt)

[LynneSin]

2. The profits still ultimately go back to the HQ and anti-gay assholes but...

I'm glad to see this guy speak up!

[Roland99]

3. To the greatest!

[Kablooie]

4. The Hollywood franchise owner made a similar statement.

But still 50% of the profits go back to the main office.
That percentage is one of the largest in the fast food business.

[Bluenorthwest]

6. That guy in Hollywood is not an owner, all locations are owned by the company

The company gets all of the profits, as the operators hold no equity share at all. Operators get a percentage, not a share. Look at the company's website, they will explain it. Hollywood dude is not being forthcoming with you, to say the least. He does not own that store, the company does.

[MADem]

5. Those franchise owners need to keep speaking up. They need to have Chik-fil-GAY discount days, to

commemorate important moments in LGBT history, and just keep sticking it to the HQ. They need to go out of their way to hire gay workers, and keep grabbing press where ever they can.

Bit by bit...! If there are enough people who speak out, that guy will probably tire of the controversy, take the business public, cash in his chips, make a nice payday, give up control, and the business will become "normal" (i.e. not hateful or discriminatory).

He'd make a nice amount of money for getting out of the line of (well-deserved) fire, and fans of that stuff could get their 'chik-n' without guilt.

[Bluenorthwest]

7. Chick Fil A stores are all owned by the company. Top store person is an 'operator' who is not

an owner and holds absolutely no equity share in the business. Those operators do not own their locations, not in part, not in whole, not in any way at all.
I hope those who seek to do the right thing are very honest about their relationship to the company and that they do not suffer for their stand, but they are not owners, and if they say they are, they are gilding the lily to say the least.

[MADem]

10. That's unfortunate. nt

[Igel]

19. But buy-in's cheap.

IT's the kind of thing I wish I'd thought of.

$5k for the franchise, the cost of a 10-year-old mid-range SUV in decent condition. You don't go deep into debt to sign on. Not exactly small change, but most credit cards have a higher debt limit. If you're hardworking and fairly poor, you can swing it. This just keeps out absolute deadbeats.

You don't own the storefront. It means you don't pay for it. It flops, you walk away. It's a success, you don't own it. Low risk, low benefit. It's a good starter business: Come in, learn the ropes, sell your franchise (which isn't worth much to you anyway).

They issue 75 franchises a year. They pick the locations. It reduces franchise risk. And certainly cuts down on brand dilution.

You get 50% of the profits, so there's hefty profit sharing. Bring in more cash, take home more cash. But only 50% ... Then again, your minimum salary is $0.

My family goes to CFA because of their kids policy. Very kid friendly. Kid events every week or so. The usual kid's meal toy is something vaguely educational. Happy meal--you always get a piece of plastic that doesn't do much. Last time it was in the form of an Ice Age character. CFA kid's meal? A few months ago we got a brief guide to birding and nature-watching and a beginner's naturalist's observation book. Recently they were big into Mercer's kid books.

I like it because it's not like BK, MacDonalds, or the other fastfood restaurants. At 3 PM the counter help are students. Weekends, they're students. Before finals, all the school-time employees work extra to give students time off. Some work 10 or 12 hours a week. A student of mine working at another place had a birthday and was told to work more hours or find another job; the CFAs around here, at least, limit students' hours, even if they're 19. In July service took a nosedive at the ones my family goes to: Almost all the counter help were new hires as the older employees quit after the school year ended and as they got ready to go off to college or found full-time "grownup" jobs. The manager accepted this: I asked about one of my students and was told, "Denise isn't here because she took off today for a job interview." It reduces the social gap between me and my students. I go there after school and almost always run into at least one of my students, often 2 or 3. I've had kids who wouldn't work for them, but never a kid who complained about working for the CFA near their school.

They sponsor not just advertising opportunities football but also things like the math club. They partnered with the PTO: One day a week a mass of some breakfast food is deposited on campus before school. You prepay if you want the 50% discount. The PTO gets a slice of the revenue, most of that money goes for a post-prom party to reduce drunk driving. This is in addition to "spirit night"--raise money for the swim team to go to regionals, mention the team and it gets x% of your receipt total. The manager makes money, the swim team gets money. Yeah, and Cathy gets money.

But how many of the innocent do I hurt in punishing a bad guy in denying the HQ 10 cents from my meal 10 cents that gets used for HQ's overhead and employees but some of which goes to Cathy? Yeah, I don't know. It's punishing evil. It feels good to boycott. It's doing something. Not much, but something, that might have a good outcome, so I can say that "I" did something and feel powerful. But it's too nuanced for me.

[arely staircase]

18. so, could he get in trouble with the company for this? nt

[JNelson6563]

8. But they still pay alot to the bigoted mothership

Yes, the head of the org is an asshole and yes this franchise will still pay lots and lots of money to the asshole in question. Supporting this or any other location still, ultimately, means supporting the bigotry.

Sorry.

Julie

[muntrv]

9. The money will still go to the talibornagain owners.

[freshwest]

14. Talibornagain. Good one. Stealing it.

[patrice]

16. I'd bet money that this will be a vehicle to spread the meme that Democrats want a GOVERNMENT BAN

on anti-gay businesses.

There's a FB group of a few hundred "Christians Tired of Being Misrepresented" who tried to run that message: Democrats want a GOVERNMENT BAN on anti-gay businesses, late yesterday. I kicked their butts, said that Democrats support using our "speech" dollars to boycott anti-gay businesses but a government band would be wrong; did not un-Like the group so I can keep an eye on them.

[freshwest]

17. What's bizarre is anyone wanting to be known as an 'anti-gay' or any part of humanity business.

Doesn't sound too pro-life to me! I'm in favor of almost everything that is ALIVE.

Skeeters, scorpions, chiggers, ticks, flies and fleas don't quite make my list, but anyway. I was living in a desperately rural area at one time and asking a fundie pastor one time, if everything God made is Good, why are those things here?

He has to think a while, but reasoned it out, as best as he could. 'They were created After The Fall,' he said. Post-Garden of Eden to his mind, no doubt. And I might add the youth pastor was gay, and a number of other church members were.

Everyone knew and had known them since childhood and they were respected community members. No one ever talked about them being gay, feared, gossiped or shunned them. In fact, they didn't go into all that crap about abortion, either.

These were old white people, the WW2 generation, who believed in not killing everything on your land, either. When I asked these old farmers why they didn't use pesticides and herbicides, they said that those were God's creatures and their fields were God's fields.

This hatred routine has been fueled by the big money groups making money off of hatred. I saw that things were changing for the younger generation as I left after Rush came on the air. As the older generation passed, there was a new pastor who was more concerned with conservative politics and I'd classify as another hateful Republican.

I went back to see this old guy that everyone knew was gay and was one of my best friends there. I wouldn't want to live there anymore, the fundies of the new sort have taken over and run the old timers out of the volunteer fire department, etc.

As far as what God, who these people claim to follow, yet they hate others, some of them hate Latinos, Arabs, blacks, etc. Didn't God make them the way they are? So what's the hold up?

It was not an American value as these people saw it to treat other people who were different this way so I am going to miss the FDR generation when they're gone and we are left dealing with these brainwashed, hypocritical barbarians.

[DeSwiss]

25. Here are two more for ya!

[center][font size=4 color=red]Fundamentalpatients

&

Talibangelicals[/font][/center]

- No charge......

[liberallibral]

11. Nice!!

Apparently, the Chick-Fil-A's are all packed today, around the country... I like the restaurant, but am most definitely a supporter OF gay marriage..... As long as they don't "discriminate", I'm fine continuing to give them my business. Heck, President Obama did have the same view on gay marriage, until only a short time ago.

Nice to see the food chain franchise sponsoring the LGBT event!!

[obamanut2012]

12. Interesting post

[uppityperson]

13. As long as who doesn't "discriminate" and why the quotes around discriminate? Thanks.

[liberallibral]

20. As long as The CEO and the Stores don't discriminate...

And the quotes were because I haven't seen Chick-Fil-A discriminating against anybody - only saw the CEO and some of the other higher-ups speak about their opposition to gay marraige (which is their constitutional right to do so).

If they discriminate in any way against gays or any other group, I'll never give them another dime!

I'm for gay marraige, but also for allowing business owners to freely speak their minds. Even if I disagree with them. If people don't agree with their views, simply don't give them your business. That's usually the way things work in this country. Rahm and the other mayors were way out of line when they said what they said this week, and it's backfiring big time.

Even President Obama was against gay marraige until a short time ago, so why the vitriol now? Doesn't make sense to me..... And no, I am NOT a Christian, in case anyone's wondering... And yes, I am voting for Obama in November!

[uppityperson]

22. And since they use that money to fight marriage equality, does that impact your using them?

http://www.snopes.com/politics/sexuality/chickfila.asp

[uppityperson]

23. They have discriminated. And donated @ least $5 million anti-gay bs...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-badash/chick-fil-a-5-reasons-it-isnt-what-you-think_b_1725237.html

Chick-fil-A has donated at least $5 million to organizations (including a certified hate group) that, among other things, depict gay people as pedophiles, want to make "gay behavior" illegal, and even say gay people should be "exported" out of America.

(clip) 2) Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy didn't merely say he supports traditional marriage. Dan Cathy said if you support gay marriage, you "are inviting God's judgment on our nation," and that we "shake our fist at Him" when we do. Dan Cathy also said same-sex marriage is the result of a "deprived" mind and called it "twisted up kind of stuff."
(clip)
3) Chick-fil-A supports organizations that have claimed they can change gay people into straight people -- "pray away the gay" -- despite the fact that practically every major medical organization has stated that this is not only impossible but dangerous and harmful.
(clip)

4) The media keep saying Chick-fil-A has never discriminated, but the truth is that Chick-fil-A has been sued over a dozen times for employment discrimination. That's what a leading business publication, Forbes, stated in 2007, when they also called Chick-fil-A a "cult" and reported that Chick-fil-A's founder and CEO Truett Cathy said he wanted to hire married people because they are more industrious and productive. Truett Cathy has also said he would probably fire someone who "has been sinful or done something harmful to their family members."

[patrice]

15. This event will probably carry the message that Democrats propose a GOVERNMENT BAN on

anti-gay businesses.

There is a "Christian" Face Book group posting that graphic/message and where there's one there are more.

[Dont call me Shirley]

21. Boycott the hypocrites!

[DeSwiss]

24. Wonders will never cease!

Here we apparently have a ''Christian'' who has actually read the words and understood the meaning of the words, of Jesus:

Matthew 7
1. Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

Matthew 22
36. Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37. Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38. This is the first and great commandment.
39. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

- It's a MIRACLE!!!

K&R