Two weeks after the Denver City Council’s delay of an airport Chick-fil-A lease attracted national attention and conservative scorn, a committee on Tuesday unanimously approved it.
The 5-0 vote signals that the concession deal at Denver International Airport likely will face little or no turbulence in the full council in coming weeks. Council members who had raised questions about the operators’ nondiscrimination policies, as well as about Chick-fil-A’s past political activity, said they were satisfied with the answers they got.
“I don’t have any concerns about moving this forward based on what I’ve learned in the last two weeks,” said Councilwoman Robin Kniech, who isn’t on the committee but was among council members who spoke up at an Aug. 18 meeting of the Business Development Committee.
Her research confirmed, she said, that Concessions International, the Atlanta-based dominant concession partner, has “a very strong nondiscrimination policy,” which will be backed up by state and local nondiscrimination laws. The company also provides same-sex partner benefits for eligible employees, she said.
Kniech and Councilman Paul Lopez defended their and other members’ scrutiny of the lease.
Heavy news coverage spurred a litany of e-mails from out of state, some laced with vitriol. Council members also received a closed-door briefing Tuesday on legal considerations.
The council’s attention was prompted in part by past comments made by the fast-food chain’s now-chief executive, Dan Cathy, opposing same-sex marriage on religious grounds, as well as donations by company-affiliated foundations to groups that some considered anti-gay. Cathy since has said he regretted inserting the company into political debates.
“Things happen because folks — whether at this table or in the community — see a concern and bring it up,” Lopez said. “I think it’s important that (for) every contract, we have the opportunity to question and comment on everything that comes through” the committee.
Council president Chris Herndon, though, said it should have passed out of the committee at the first meeting based on the merits of the proposal.
The DIA Chick-fil-A’s local minority partner would be Delarosa Restaurant Concepts. Both concessionaires operate other DIA restaurants or have been involved in concessions there, and their proposal was selected from among 13 bids.
“The deal I lament in this is that the main story (should be) Delarosa and Concession International and their business model,” committee chairman Albus Brooks said.
He noted Delarosa’s disadvantaged business status and that its 40 percent share in the partnership exceeds airport minority contracting goals.
Tuesday’s straight-forward, 15-minute discussion contrasted with sharp comments from council members two weeks ago that caught DIA officials and the proposed concessionaires by surprise.
“I try not to get into the political side of it — my view is just that I’ll let the politicians do what they do and I’ll focus on operations,” Leonard Crayton, general manager of Concessions International’s Denver restaurants, said after Tuesday’s vote.
Besides Chick-fil-A’s history, some members had questioned if the chain, which has religion-influenced practices that include mandating that all locations be closed on Sundays, was appropriate for an airport with heavy traffic on that day.
DIA officials say travelers who have been clamoring for Chick-fil-A in airport surveys will expect its Sunday closure. They project that the location — in Concourse B’s food court area — will ring up more sales, estimated at $4.1 million the first year, than most restaurants that are open all seven days. The contract calls for $616,278 in concession fees paid to DIA each year.
The operators hope to open the Chick-fil-A by early next summer.
Jon Murray: 303-954-1405, jmurray@denverpost.com or twitter.com/JonMurray
