US fast-food chain Chick-fil-A has lodged plans for a new restaurant on Princes Street, which would be its first site in Scotland. The proposal is understood to involve a multi-level restaurant with seating across two floors and a basement kitchen, designed to fit within the historic character of one of Edinburgh’s best-known thoroughfares.
City planners are expected to scrutinise the application closely, weighing up issues such as heritage, frontage design and the balance between retail and food uses on the street. The move also follows wider efforts over the past decade to encourage more café and restaurant uses on Princes Street, shifting it away from a purely retail focus towards a more “café culture” feel.
The Edinburgh plan sits within Chick-fil-A’s renewed UK expansion strategy, which includes a first restaurant in Leeds and a commitment to open five UK stores in the first two years. The company has signalled a long-term investment of more than 100 million US dollars in the UK market over the next decade, positioning itself as a premium quick-service chicken brand.
Chick-fil-A has already tested Scottish demand through previous pop-up activity in Edinburgh, where executives described the city as “very attractive” and a priority market for the brand. The Princes Street plan would mark a shift from temporary trials to a permanent, high-profile flagship presence in the capital.
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Although Chick-fil-A has said it has refocused its charitable giving on areas such as education and homelessness, campaigners argue that the company has not provided cast-iron guarantees that it will permanently rule out funding groups hostile to LGBTQ+ rights. Any Edinburgh opening is therefore likely to attract close attention from local activists, councillors and business groups, with the Princes Street plan seen as an early test of how Scottish cities respond to the brand’s latest expansion drive.
Supporters of the Princes Street restaurant argue that a major international brand could help draw more footfall to the city centre, create jobs and contribute to a more vibrant evening economy on a street that has seen traditional retail struggle. The proposed site would sit alongside other big-name food and drink operators, reinforcing a shift in the heart of Edinburgh towards eating-out and leisure as the high street continues to evolve.
However, opponents question whether the city should welcome a company with such a contested track record on LGBTQ+ issues, particularly in a capital that brands itself as inclusive and progressive. The planning process will therefore become a focal point not just for debates about heritage and land use, but for wider questions about the values that underpin Edinburgh’s changing city centre.
