Out with the Red Lobster, in with the Chick-fil-A. A popular but controversial, chicken-focused fast-food chain planned for the location of a now-shuttered seafood-oriented casual dining restaurant is “one step closer” to opening.
A meeting of Ulster’s town board last week adopted the short form Environmental Assessment Form (EAF) Part II and Directing Preparation of Part II for the proposed 5198-square-foot fast-food restaurant with drive-through at 1 Miron Lane. The plans were previously looked at by the town’s planning board, with the town board taking lead-agency status for the SEQRA review of the proposal.
“We are one step closer to getting a Chick-fil-A,” said town supervisor James E. Quigley, after the unanimous approval. If their proposal goes according to plan, the new local Chick-fil-A location could be open as soon as this time next year.
The plan’s potential environmental impacts have been submitted by Chick-fil-A, with engineering work by Bohler, a land development consultant. Headquartered in College Park, Georgia, Chick-fil-A has locations in 48 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The company’s late founder S. Truett Cathy was a Southern Baptist who ran the company through a devout lens, including restaurant closure companywide on Sundays.
Chick-fil-A has a history of controversy, primarily around its donations to activist groups dedicated to the elimination of legal same-sex marriage. In 2012, company chairman Dan Cathy said Chick-fil-A backs “the traditional family unit,” igniting a cultural firestorm, with both supporters and detractors of gay marriage weighing in.
Chick-fil-A released a statement that year saying, “The Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity, and respect — regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation, or gender.”
In a November 2019 interview, the company’s CEO Tim Tassopoulous said the company would stop donating to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Salvation Army, two organizations frequently criticized by LGBTQ+ advocates.
The closure of the local Red Lobster was part of the elimination of at least 99 locations across the country, followed by the company filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Red Lobster suffered an estimated $11 million in 2023 third-quarter earnings after making its special $20 Ultimate Endless Shrimp promotion permanent.
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