Chick-fil-A Is Opening a Five Story, 9/11 Themed Restaurant Next To The Freedom Tower

GRUBSTREET – Chick-fil-A has quietly resumed its Gotham-wide expansion tear. ..The chain’s executives have struck again by announcing that New Yorkers will receive their fourth franchise in 2018.

And boy is it something: a 12,000-square-foot restaurant in the Financial District that’s going to be “the largest the company has ever built, with five levels, including a rooftop terrace that will offer unimpeded views of Freedom Tower.”

According to the official announcement, it’s taking over the whole building at 144 Fulton Street, one block from ground zero.

No plans as of yet to get a liquor license and sell $18 Heinekens to tourists, but the space will definitely make full, exploitative use of its prime location: Chick-fil-A says it wanted to “respectfully pay homage to the significance” of being just a few hundred feet from the World Trade Center site. This means — maybe sit down for this part — outfitting the restaurant’s façade with elements that “give a subtle impression of the Twin Towers — one on each side of the restaurant.” It will be a way of “honoring renewal after tragedy.”

I’ll admit, at first glance, this story seems a little…unseemly.  Doesn’t quite feel right.  Your first reaction to a fast food joint selling greasy chicken sandwiches claiming their new storefront is an homage and tribute to the greatest tragedy our nation has ever faced is at best corny, and at worst, flat out exploitative.  Not to mention Chick-fil-A doesn’t exactly have the strongest PR image to begin with due to their discriminatory views on same-sex marriage and people who like to eat on Sundays.

That being said, outside of the unsavory notion of evoking 9/11 when they’re really just trying to sell more chicken to tourists, I don’t find the concept all that problematic.  Nothing worth being outraged about or anything.  What it all boils down to: a place is opening with a sick rooftop where you can sit and take in amazing views of the Freedom Tower.  That alone is worth checking out.  If you can sit there and reflect and process your feelings while also enjoying a boneless breast of chicken seasoned to perfection, hand-breaded, pressure cooked in 100% refined peanut oil and served on a toasted, buttered bun with dill pickle chips, well then that’s just an added bonus.

#NeverForgetToEatMorChikin