An assemblyman in New York said on Friday there are no longer plans to bring Chick-fil-A to the Buffalo Niagara International Airport.
The assemblyman mentioned the need for “antidiscriminatory policies” in stating his opposition to Chick-fil-A. Just one day earlier, on Thursday, the airport announced that Chick-fil-A would come to the airport to replace “underperforming” brands.
Assemblyman Sean Ryan released the following statement:
“Earlier today I spoke with the vendor of the Buffalo Airport food court project, and they informed me they will not be opening a Chick-fil-A as a part of their airport project. A publicly financed facility like the Buffalo Niagara International Airport is not the appropriate venue for a Chick-fil-A restaurant. I applaud the decision that has been made to remove Chick-fil-A from the plans for this project. We hope in the future the NFTA will make every effort to contract with businesses that adhere to antidiscriminatory policies, and we’re confident another vendor who better represents the values of the Western New York community will replace Chick-fil-A as a part of this project in the very near future.”
Recently, the San Antonio airport disinvited Chick-fil-A – drawing both sharp criticism and on Thursday an announcement from the Texas Attorney General that he would investigate.
“The City of San Antonio’s decision to exclude a respected vendor based on the religious beliefs associated with that company and its owners is the opposite of tolerance,” Attorney General Ken Paxton said.
The push to remove Chick-fil-A from airports coincided with a March 20 report by thinkprogress.org which said Chick-fil-A donated $1,653,416 to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, $6,000 to the Paul Anderson Youth Home, and $150,000 to the Salvation Army.
Thinkprogess.org referred to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the Paul Anderson Youth Home, and the Salvation Army as “anti-LGBTQ.”
(Information from Nexstar affiliates wivb.com and kxan.com contributed to this report.)