Georgia-based fast food giant Chick-fil-A announced on Thursday that the restaurant chain will be launching in the U.K. sometime in early 2025. As the first ever permanent store outside of North America, the U.K. location would mark the beginning of a seven-year-long plan to open Chick-fil-A restaurants in Europe and Asia.
In the U.K., the company plans to open five locally owned and operated Chick-fil-A restaurants within the first two years. From there, it hopes to expand far and wide.
“We are excited our restaurants will bring new jobs and opportunities throughout the UK,” Anita Costello, Chick-fil-A Inc. chief international officer, said in a press release. “Serving communities is at the heart of everything we do at Chick-fil-A, and our unique local owner-operator model provides one of a kind access to entrepreneurial opportunities. We look forward to sharing our authentic Chick-fil-A experience: providing fresh food prepared with high-quality ingredients, served with our signature hospitality.”
Chick-fil-A already has over 2,800 restaurants across North America, with locations across the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada. To achieve its goals overseas, Chick-fil-A announced in Thursday’s press release that it intends to invest over $100 million into its international ventures over the next decade. Each new restaurant is expected to create roughly 80 to 120 new jobs.
“From our earliest days, we’ve worked to positively influence the places we call home and this will be the same for our stores in the UK,” Joanna Symonds, head of UK operations, said in a press release. “We encourage our Operators to partner with organisations which support and positively impact their local communities, delivering great food and wider benefits to those around them.”
Each time a Chick-fil-A restaurant opens, the company will donate $25,000 to a local non-profit organization dedicated to “reducing incidences of hunger in communities.”
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