Religion is bad business

It’s upsetting to see a revered operation stumble over issues that have nothing to do with its core function. That’s why it’s downright painful to see how Chick-fil-A is handling the accusations that it’s anti-gay.

In case you missed the flashpoint, a franchisee of the southern chicken chain had agreed to provide sandwiches to a religious group that doesn’t see gay unions as part of God’s work. The food was scheduled to be served at a seminar championing heterosexual marriages as the Divine Plan. I believe the event was posed as a celebration of “family values,” a phrase used today in the same way “state rights” was sounded during the civil rights movement.

Chick-fil-A’s gift drew media attention, prompting the franchise to back off. But gay rights groups cited the planned support as more evidence that Chick-fil-A’s religious sensibility is inhospitable to persons of all sexual orientations.

There’s no doubt the chain regards Christianity as part of its DNA, and hasn’t shied away from promoting those beliefs. I drew fire about five years ago for criticizing a prayer breakfast that had been scheduled as an official event during the restaurant industry’s national convention in Chicago. To me, a Christian meeting had no place in a gathering that should be open to people of all beliefs. It's hardly a secret that the event, which was repeated in subsequent years, had the backing of Chick-fil-A.

Less-offensive reflections of Chick-fil-A’s religious orientation are its insistence that all units close on Sundays. Chain founder Truett Cathy recounted to me a few years ago that he implemented the policy on Day One because of his religious beliefs. But, he explained, the years revealed a business benefit to giving managers and restaurant staffs a guaranteed day off. It’s viewed as a perk, giving the chain a recruitment edge.

Chick-fil-A waivered on feeding the seminar in Pennsylvania, but it hasn’t eased back off from its support of Christian matrimony. The company acknowledges that it strives to help employees and franchisees on their “marriage journey,” and even runs a retreat center for couples.

The chain hasn’t specified that those marriages have to be heterosexual, but many critics say it doesn’t have to utter the words. The situation in Pennsylvania, the promotion of marriage, even staying closed on Sunday—all of it speaks to the chain’s commitment to conservative Christianity, which leaves no place for people with a same-sex orientation.

Chick-fil-A could’ve tempered or dispelled that impression if it’d handled the aftermath more pointedly. Today it issued a “clarification” of its stand on the matter. But nowhere in that document did it say it welcomed and appreciated all couples and orientations. Instead, it hedged, professing openness to “all people regardless of their beliefs and opinions” and pledging that “we will not champion any political agendas on marriage and family.

A sexual orientation isn’t a belief or opinion. Nor should it be mentioned in the same breath as “political agendas.’ That’s playing into fundamentalists’ assertions that homosexuality is a correctable choice and a downright sin.

I’ve covered the Chick-fil-A organization for a long time, and I know that it’s created opportunity for thousands of persons from all types of backgrounds. But I think it needs to seize the high ground here and flatly say that it values employees, franchisees and patrons of all persuasions and orientations.

It should leave religion to Sundays, outside the scope of the business.

Who is that masked bidder?

You have to wonder why the second company to tender a bid for Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s is hell-bent on masking its identity. Suitor No. 1, after all, is all but hiring skywriters to tout its interest: “Thomas H. Lee wants to do burgers!”

So why the secrecy for would-be buyer No. 2? After thinking about it at length today, I’m convinced there are three possible answers:

1) The bidder is actually Bruce Wayne, who's thinking of the possible movie tie-ins. It’s always dicey when you live over a secret cave and have an alternate crime-fighting ego in the age of YouTube. Besides, Alfred’s not getting any younger, and he could spill the beans about the capes and all those nifty toys if reporters come a-calling.

2) The would-be buyer doesn’t want to drive up the price of CKE Restaurants, the chains' parent, by sparking a bidding war. That, in turn, could be the case if the acquisition is a strategic one. If the addition of those brands makes terrific sense for the suitor, the market might bet the second party would be willing to sweeten its offer.

So what companies fit that fit that bill?

How about Yum Brands? Burgers are a gaping hole in its franchise portfolio, and both Carl’s and Hardee’s have geographic room to grow.

Or how about an East Coast brand that could suddenly have a big presence in the West and Central West? That description could apply to a few brands, including Chick-fil-A. Then again, that’s not the type of operation to do something rash. But it would have the wherewithal.

3) This cloaked suitor doesn’t want to alarm its current employees, or possibly even its investors. It’d rather complete the deal before it needlessly worries key constituencies and creates a nightmare for itself.

But that sounds unlikely. So I’m putting my money on the likelihood that the challenger is a restaurant company who sees the two regional burger chains as good complements to its current holdings.

Then again, I had Kansas winning the NCAA championship.

No showing of the green? Seriously??

Proponents of the green movement probably relished yesterday’s disclosure that Carl’s Jr. had opened its first eco-friendly restaurant, a prototype studded with such advances as a rain-capture system, a high-tech smoke eater, and even a perch for a local hawk. But they likely missed today’s more significant announcement, from 26-unit Granite City Food & Brewery.

The regional brewpub chain trumpeted the opening of its latest outlet with all the reserve of a parent whose second grader just made the honor roll. “Highly detailed” and “contemporary décor” that make the place veritably buzz! A “fun and family-friendly dining atmosphere,” apparently for those who’d rather not vibrate during dinner!! Set in Carmel, IN, “one of the top ten places to live in the Midwest,” with “excellent schools, safe neighborhoods, an award-winning public library and an expanded park system” !!!

The description went on and on—without a mention of a single green feature. No LED lights in the parking lot. No motion-sensor-based light switches in the bathroom. No high-efficiency equipment in the kitchen, or flooring recycled from waste materials. Heck, not even a low-flow pre-rinse valve at the dish station, which would’ve set the facility back about $80.

How can a chain open a restaurant today that doesn’t incorporate at least the most fundamental devices and processes for conserving energy and water and cutting waste?

I’m picking on Granite, but it’s no different than almost every other restaurant chain that recently announced the opening of a new branch, from Chick-fil-A to Max & Erma’s.

Perhaps those restaurants really have green touches. If so, and the operator or franchisor merely isn’t crowing about it in their announcements, a public relations boon is being squandered. If not, they’re ignoring the genetic engineering that’s underway in the industry. A green gene is fast becoming a part of restaurants’ DNA. To ignore that is to risk being a freak, and having to fix the problem down the road with a potentially costly rehab.