An American fast-food chain that came under fire for its opposition to same-sex marriage has quietly opened its first Canadian franchise in years at the Calgary airport.

Chick-fil-A started operations Tuesday at the Calgary International Airport. The company has made no publicity of the location’s opening.

“We’re a company that’s focused on serving great food and serving all our guests with honour, dignity and respect,” said Cheryl Dick, director of licensing. “What we’re focusing on, and what we’re known for, is great hospitality and incredibly great food.”

Dick has been in town for a week with a team of six from the company’s Atlanta headquarters to train 30 local staff.

“This really isn’t a formal launch for a Canadian growth plan,” says Dick. “We really wanted to give the team time to get operationally sound.”

Dick says the idea came about eight months ago when food-service company HMSHost was looking to replace its Harvey’s restaurant between concourses B and C, near the U.S. departures screening. A ribbon-cutting is planned for July. Though a company spokesperson said this is the first location in Canada, a 1995 article in a University of Alberta student newspaper mentions an on-campus franchise.

The Southern restaurant is known for its hand-breaded chicken and freshly squeezed lemonade.

Chick-fil-A is shaped around its founder’s Southern Baptist beliefs; all branches are closed for business on Sunday. The company lists its corporate purpose as: “To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.”

The restaurant sparked outrage starting in January 2011 after reports that it donated to groups opposing same-sex marriage starting in 2003. In 2010, the restaurant donated $1.9 million to a handful of groups lobbying against same-sex marriage, as well as the heterosexual conversion group Exodus International, which renounced its 37-year therapy practice and disbanded last June.

The controversy came to a head in the summer of 2012, when Chick-fil-A’s chief operating officer Dan T. Cathy challenged those who “have the audacity to define what marriage is about,” saying they were “inviting God’s judgment on our nation.” A series of boycotts, protests and counter-protests ensued until the company decided in late 2012 to avoid political stances.

“We’re focusing on the restaurant business; we don’t want to get into the political and social issues of the day,” said Dick, who chalks up Cathy’s remarks to “personal views that don’t necessarily represent the company.”

Dick allowed the Herald to speak with restaurant guests if it avoided the controversy. “We’re not trying to bring any attention to that. I would ask you not ask the guests that question,” Dick said.

On Wednesday afternoon between lunch and dinner, about 10 people were dining in the franchise, almost all of whom were staff. Dick says 300 came through the restaurant’s doors on their first day. Customers who spoke with the Herald enjoyed the food, and talked down the 2012 controversy.

“It’s very tasty,” said Brad Porter, who enjoyed a chicken sandwich. He splits his time between Calgary and Las Vegas, but has never visited a Chick-fil-A. He knows about the controversy but is indifferent. “It doesn’t really matter to me either way; to each his own.”

Doug Hass went to the restaurant Tuesday and ordered a “really delicious” chicken nuggets combo with waffle fries. As a gay man who has served on the board of Pride Calgary, Hass said Chick-fil-A’s stance on gay marriage bothered him. But he’s come to forgive the restaurant after they weighed out of politics.

“We live in a free society where we’re allowed to believe what we want to,” he said, adding that he’s skeptical his $11 purchase helped the company in a large way. “I don’t agree with (the COO’s) opinion but I do respect his right to have that opinion.”

drobertson@calgaryherald.com

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