HOLLYWOOD - Hollywood has seen its fair share of sparring divas — but lately, the real drama isn’t on a soundstage. It’s playing out on Sunset Boulevard, where two clucking contenders have taken their marks like feuding starlets elbowing for a close-up. On one side of the street: Chick-fil-A, the Southern belle with a long memory and a controversial past. On the other: Raising Cane’s, the new kid on the block, strutting in with fresh paint, golden fryers, and none of the reputation baggage — at least, not yet.
Who will win the war?....
Chik-Fil-A, a Hollywood standard for years
6750 W. Sunset Blvd.
Raising Cane's, the new kid on the block
6800 W. Sunset Blvd.
By Allan R. Ellenberger - The Hollywoodland Revue
Nov. 12. (THLR) - Now, if you wander down that bustling stretch of Sunset, you’ll spot Chick-fil-A tucked neatly at 6750 West Sunset Boulevard, its drive-thru humming from dawn until long after the last Uber driver calls it quits. Cross the street — or simply turn your head — and there sits Raising Cane’s new Hollywood outpost at 6800 West Sunset, practically waving from across the boulevard like a younger, eager ingénue eagerly eyeing the marquee lights.
And oh, honey, the contrast could stop traffic.
Chick-fil-A, as we all know, has a history straight out of a scandal sheet. Years of donations to openly anti-LGBTQ+ organizations left a sour taste long before anyone unwrapped a chicken sandwich. They’ve since tried to soften their image, trimming certain donations and rolling out statements about workplace inclusivity — but ask around Hollywood, and many still aren’t convinced the belle has changed her feathers. Reputation, after all, is like a film premiere: once the reviews are in, they never really go away.
Raising Cane’s, meanwhile, arrives as the bright-eyed upstart — no major scandals, no headline-making donations against equality, and no long paper trail of culture-war entanglements. Their public persona leans toward community groups, school partnerships, and little league sponsorships. Whether that squeaky-clean image will hold as they grow is anyone’s guess, but for now, they’re the chain Hollywood looks at with cautious curiosity rather than side-eye suspicion.
And here’s where I step out from behind the curtain: I’ve made my own choice. I don’t patronize Chick-fil-A. Their documented history with anti-LGBTQ+ causes is something I can’t personally overlook, and I won’t support them until they state — clearly, publicly, unapologetically — that they will never again donate to groups working against LGBTQ+ rights. My dollars follow my conscience — and I believe everyone else should follow theirs, wherever it leads.
Watching these two restaurants face each other across Highland Avenue is like watching two versions of corporate America stare each other down: one burdened by its past, the other still writing its script. And Hollywood folk, with our flair for reinvention and reputation, know better than anyone that image isn’t everything — but it is something.
So next time you’re in Hollywood and craving chicken, take a look around. See the boulevard, the businesses, the choices laid out side by side. Then decide which story you want to be part of — and which one you’d rather leave on the cutting-room floor.
Because in this town, darling, even the chicken comes with a narrative.
READER: Next week look for an Opinion piece of Chik-Fil-A and its history of LGBTQ discrimination.
Share your thoughts below — are you on Team Chik-Fil-A or Team Raising Cane’s— I’d love to hear your take on this piece and Hollywood’s ever-unfolding story.
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