Why are we queuing for chain restaurants like Wingstop and Chick-fil-A while Belfast’s best independents struggle? |
THERE is something oddly revealing about the queues that form whenever a new chain restaurant opens in the north.
Over the past year we have watched them snake around car parks, shopping centres and even service stations.
First came Mary Brown’s Chicken, then Popeyes, then Chick-fil-A, and most recently Wingstop.
On one level, the excitement makes sense. We are a relatively small market and for years we watched trends land in London, Manchester or Dublin long before they reached Belfast.
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There is novelty in finally getting what everyone else has. There is also comfort in familiarity. A chain promises consistency: you know roughly what you are going to get before you walk through the door.
And yet, I can’t help feeling a degree of frustration.
Because when you strip away the hype, most of us would........