It feels just like yesterday when everyone was consumed by the hype of Shake Shack and A&W opening their stores at Jewel Changi for the first time.
Now, another fast-food giant from the US is speculated to be setting up operations in Singapore, with trademark chicken sandwiches that might rival the likes of McDonald’s McSpicy and KFC’s Zinger Burger.
Chick-fil-A Seems To Be “Cooking Up” Some Outlets in Singapore
According to the Wall Street Journal, on 13 March 2023, Chick-fil-A announced that it would expand its outlets to Europe and Asia by 2026.
While it hasn’t been officially confirmed that Chick-fil-A will be opening its first outlet in Singapore yet, all the evidence seems to be pointing towards it.
According to Chick-fil-A’s Head of Asia Pacific, Hugh S. Park, the business is “looking at several possible locations throughout Asia, including Singapore”.
Furthermore, Chick-fil-A has already set up headquarters in Singapore under the (not really) unassuming name of CHICK-FIL-A (ASIA) PTE. LTD.
About a month ago, the same headquarters also posted job advertisements on LinkedIn detailing training opportunities in Asia and (wink wink) Singapore.
And although it seems like a stretch, an eagle-eyed Redditor posted photos of what seemed to be packaging containing the Chick-fil-A brand at Funan Mall. This post was made about eight months ago, long before the job postings were even spotted.
If Chick-fil-A does open in Singapore, eager patrons should look out for their trademark chicken sandwich.
For those who always order the McSpicy at Mcdonalds, the spicy chicken sandwich is also another hot-seller. And for those looking to eat healthy, grilled chicken sandwiches are also another viable option.
However, as their “Eat Mor Chikin” slogan implies, you might be out of luck if you are looking for a beef or fish burger. (Why are you even at Chick-fil-A if you only eat Filet-o-fish??)
For those well-versed in American media, Chick-fil-A might sound familiar. However, people tend to underestimate the fast-food chain’s sheer popularity in the USA.
According to QSR Magazine, which publishes yearly reports on the fast-dining industry in the USA, Chick-fil-A generated a whopping $18.8 billion in US systemwide sales in 2022.
This makes Chick-fil-A the third-highest ranking business in the US’s service-chain industry, only surpassed by the likes of McDonald’s and Starbucks.
Despite its current size of 3,000 stores and counting in the US, Chick-fil-A stays true to its humble beginnings. Since its time as a family business in Atlanta, Chick-fil-A stores have a tradition of closing on Sundays, distinguishing it from the 24/7 model of other big fast-food chains.
However, we’ll have to wait and see if Chick-fil-A can “out-chikin” all the other big fast-food names in Singapore, even if they do decide to close on Sundays.