Franchise Chick-Fil-A Supports Gay Pride Fest

So it turns out that Chick-Failure isn't a monolithic and homogeneous business; there is laudable, applaudable rebellious diversity among the franchise owners.  This is significant, given that the founders and executive officers appear to have badly damaged their own brand with their intolerance and oh-so-public bigotry and brazen funding of known hate groups. 
Despite the one-day surge, as restaurants begin to lose money over a sustained period, it will be interesting to see how the other franchise owners react - will they remain silent, or will they also rebel and 'go rogue'? 

There is a pattern, documented in this article, of brands going strongly right in political donations and very strong public political/culture war positions, that have suffered damage they could not undo. As the article noted, old angry white people don't buy as much stuff as all the other pro-gay demographics do, and pretty much everyone else  is pro-gay/pro-marriage equality.

Opposition to gay marriage gets great numbers among the 65+ crowd (31% favor, 56% oppose) and conservative Republicans (75% favor, 16% oppose) but almost every other demographic group favors gay marriage, and Chick-fil-A’s position puts them well behind the curve.

It's not just  one article that sees that trend.  As the New York Times noted here, Chick-fil-A is going counter to the prevailing business trends, and THAT doesn't seem to be economically very successful. 

Chick-Fil-A takes perception dive with fast food eaters

by Ted MarzilliinBrandIndex Newsand Consumer  07/27/2012

Chick-Fil-A's perception with fast food eaters nationwide has taken a significant hit in most regions of the US, including the South where most of its restaurants are located, since president and COO Dan Cathy's perceived anti-gay remarks on July 16th.

On that basis, I think the franchise owners might have grounds to complain, maybe even sue, for the executives of the parent corporation damaging their investment, rather than the other way round, if other franchise owners instead of supporting the religious views of the corporate members goes the other direction, supporting and courting gay and pro-gay customers.  A good argument could be made that as a business, the executives owe their franchise investors a responsibility not to crash the business for them.  The execs need to decide if they want to be a church, or a business; if it is the latter, then they need to start separating their unpopular views from their corporate positions.

And too bad for Chick-failure-hey!, it looks like some of their FORMER customers are going the DIY route, and might not be coming back, AND the corporate executives appear to have turned their chain into a joke, besides.

An excellent example, from the SFGate / San Fancisco Chronicle:

Chick-fil-A: Manager goes rogue, Wendy’s fleeting support, kiss-in Friday

A rainbow flag is waved by same sex marriage advocates outside a Chick-fil-A restaurant Wednesday in Hollywood, California. (Robyn Beck/Getty Images)

Fans rallied around Chick-fil-A during an Appreciation Day on Wednesday, and same-sex marriage supporters are responding with a “kiss-in” Friday. The national debate stems from Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy’s stance against gay marriage, and shows no signs of abating.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Friday’s “National Same Sex Kiss Day” is supported, though not organized, by GLAAD. The organization is also encouraging people to eat at KFC instead of Chick-fil-A.
Chick-fil-A rival Wendy’s briefly jumped into the fray when some restaurants in North Carolina and South Carolina posted signs saying “We stand with Chick-fil-A.” The company quickly asked for the signs to be changed and released a statement saying “This is one independent franchisee’s personal opinion.”
In New Hampshire, a Chick-fil-A manager might be causing his chain headaches. Anthony Picolia and the Nashua Chick-fil-A, the only one in the state, are supporting the New Hampshire Pride Fest on Aug. 11. In a statement, Picolia said “I would challenge people to come have a conversation with me before they make assumptions or boycott my restaurant.”