The Bobster
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Cluck Off! Albany pols want to boot Chick-fil-A from thruway rest stops
A bill introduced this week would require restaurants operating on the thruway’s 27 rest stops to be open seven days a week. Chick-fil-A is notably closed on Sunday’s.
nypost.com
Cluck Off! Albany pols want to boot Chick-fil-A from thruway rest stops
By
Social Links for Vaughn Golden
Published Dec. 15, 2023, 7:00 p.m. ET
Some state politicians want fast food chain Chick-fil-A to cross the road and never come back.
The pro-LGBT lawmakers are trying to pass a bill that would effectively bar the famous chicken joint — which has gotten criticism for donating to anti-LBGT causes — from New York State Thruway rest stops.
The new law would require that any eatery on the highway be open seven days a week, which is impossible for Chick-fil-A as it is famously closed on Sundays in recognition of the Sabbath.
“To serve New Yorkers and travelers, things should be open seven days a week, including Chick-fil-A, and if they can’t they shouldn’t be in our rest stops. There should be options for people to eat and drink and not just one spot,” Assembly member Tony Simone told the Post.
“It simply makes no sense for any provider of food services in these busy travel plazas to be closed on Sundays.”
3 State lawmakers have introduced legislation requiring restaurants at thruway stops to be open on Sundays. jetcityimage
Simone advocate on LGBT issues, made it clear he’s no fan of the wildly popular fast food stop.
“Chick-fil-A has had a terrible record on LGBT rights. I’m not going to not say that clearly,” he said when asked if that was a motivation behind the bill.
The Chelsea Democrat said, under his proposal, the company could still operate on the thruway if it just opens every day of the week.
“They can just simply change their policy and open up on Sundays,” Simone said.
3 The new law would require that any eatery on the highway be open seven days a week. Johnrob
Chick-fil-A did not respond to requests for comment, but on their website they say they have declined to operate on Sundays since 1946 so “employees could set aside one day to rest and worship if they choose.”
Chick-fil-A has come under fire for donating millions of dollars to anti-gay organizations such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
The restaurant chain’s chairman, Dan Cathy, also has a history of remarks that have put him in the crosshairs of LGBTQ groups. Cathy’s father founded the Atlanta-based $8.4 billion company in 1946.
“I think we are inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, ‘We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage,’ I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to define what marriage is about,” Cathy said in a 2012 radio interview.
3 The thruway authority selected Irish convenience store chain, Applegreen, to manage food service at rest stops in 2021. M. Suhail
It’s not the first time Chick-fil-A has been the subject of criticism from New York lawmakers either. In 2021, three legislators signed onto a letter asking the Thruway Commission to reconsider granting the Irish convenience store chain, Applegreen, a lease to run food service at the rest stops for its inclusion of Chick-fil-A as a potential restaurant.
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Chick-fil-A has now set up in seven of the 27 rest stops around the state.
The bill is in both houses of the state legislature with state Sen. Michelle Hinchey carrying it in the Senate. Hinchey’s office did not respond to request for comment Friday.