Chick-fil-A, the fast food restaurant that has drawn criticism for its past support of anti-LGBTQ groups, is opening its seventh location on Long Island this week.
Although Chick-fil-A has drawn protests upon opening prior locations in New York, including a rally outside of a new Chick-fil-A in Queens just last week, advocates say none are expected at the new LI location this time.
“Having been born and raised on Long Island, and now raising my own family here, I could not be more excited to expand Chick-fil-A’s reach in the place that has shaped who I am today,” said Bryan Beasley, the owner of both Smithtown and Commack locations. “Chick-fil-A Smithtown will further our efforts to serve great-tasting food with genuine hospitality to our community, while also providing personal and professional growth opportunities that I hope will shape a successful future for our Team Members.”
The grand opening for the restaurant’s new Smithtown location will be held on Thursday. Located at 530 Smithtown Bypass, the restaurant’s hours of operation will be from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
To ensure safety during the pandemic, Chick-fil-A Smithtown will open via drive-thru only. Guests can also use the Chick-fil-A mobile app or online ordering in order to take advantage of contactless ordering and payment.
In honor of the new location opening, Chick-fil-A Smithtown will be surprising 100 local heroes making an impact at St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center with free Chick-fil-A for a year. Chick-fil-A will also be donating $25,000 to Feeding America, in which the funds will be distributed to partners within the Smithtown area to aid in the fight against hunger.
The opening of the Chick-fil-A Smithtown location is said to bring approximately 100 full-time and part-time jobs to the community.
In light of the company previously donating to anti-LGBTQ groups, the Long Island LGBT Network weighed in on the new location opening in Smithtown.
“The franchise has different owners who could include LGBT sensitivity training for their employees,” said David Kilmnick, the president and chief executive officer of the Long Island LGBT Network. “We’d be more than happy to work with the owners of the Smithtown location to make sure that their employees are trained and that their management is trained to be as LGBT inclusive as possible.”
Kilmnick noted that the LBGT Network assisted in LGBT sensitivity training for the new Chick-fil-A location that is opening up in Jackson Heights, Queens.
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