An Italian eatery in Chicago, named The Void, celebrated Pride Month this year with a Chick-fil-A-inspired pop-up, called Chick-feel-Gay, parodying the fast food chain that earned infamy not just for its chicken but for its support of anti-LGBTQ+ organizations.
In a further rebuke of Chick-fil-A, a percentage of the proceeds will be donated to a local organization led by trans people of color.
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The chicken chain was told to “cluck off” the last time it tried to move into the UK. This time, it hired bigger guns.
The pop-up, hosted on June 22, featured chef and co-owner Dani Kaplan’s culinary take on the famous Chick-fil-A fried chicken sandwich, along with their waffle fries and chicken nuggets. Additionally, they served cake slices inspired by the Progress Pride flag, even though cake isn’t on Chick-fil-A’s menu.
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Further pushing the bounds on what they can legally get away with, the pop-up featured its own rainbow version of Chick-fil-A’s logo.
“We took the sandwich and left out the bigotry,” Void wrote in an Instagram post advertising the event.
The post further clarifies that 20% of the proceeds will be donated to the Brave Space Alliance, a Black trans-led LGBTQ+ community center on Chicago’s South Side. It’s an almost poetic form of retaliation since the chicken chain restaurant announced plans to open a location in the same Hyde Park building where Brave Space Alliance operates. Many within the LGBTQ+ community declared their disapproval due to the company’s track record of donating to organizations that undermine the LGBTQ+ community.
“For me, it reinforces that the corporation doesn’t do their homework,” Brave Space CEO Channyn Lynne Parker told Eater Chicago at the time.
Chick-fil-A has faced backlash for donating to organizations running or advocating for gay conversion therapy or that exclude LGBTQ+ people from membership or leadership positions. These organizations include Exodus International and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, to which Chick-fil-A has donated a total of $5 million.
Chef Kaplan had hosted the Chick-feel-Gay popup in the past, with it first being hosted at Lost Lake in 2020, a tiki bar that, like many restaurants during the lockdowns, fell on hard times and closed their doors permanently.
Kaplan reflects on this in a recent Instagram post, explaining how he spent three years trying to keep the place alive in an industry with a high rate of failure.
Fortunately for Chef Kaplan, they landed on their feet after being offered co-ownership of The Void from an old friend and business partner.
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