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BROOKLYN WEEKLY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2019
BY AIDAN GRAHAM
Why did the chicken cross
the road? To steal another
business’ employees!
The owner of a Prospect
Heights juice bar is
blasting management at
southern fried chicken
chain Chick-fil-A for a
shameless attempt to
poach his employees.
“To have someone come
in and target the whole
staff was kind of ridiculous,”
said Evan Franca,
owner of Flatbush Avenue’s
Brooklyn Crepe and
Juice. “It’s one of those
things that really rubs me
the wrong was as a business
owner in the community
for the last 11 years.”
The Georgia-based
fried chicken chain dispatched
a saboteur to
Franca’s juice shop between
Prospect Place and
St. Marks Avenue on Aug.
24, according to a manager,
who said the secret
agent engaged in some casual
chitchat with a cashier
— before suddenly
talking turkey.
“He seemed friendly,”
said Julian Monar. “Before
he leaves he hands the cashier
a few business cards
and says he’s from Chickfi
l-A — they’re opening a location
by the Barclays Center,
and they are hiring.”
Chick-fil-A is just
weeks away from opening
its first Brooklyn outpost
two blocks down Flatbush
Avenue from Franca’s
juice shop next month,
and Monar suspects the
recruiter was looking to
stock the chicken chain’s
hen house by enticing the
four juicers working that
day to fly the coop.
“I was surprised someone
would do that,” said
Monar. “That’s a little disrespectful.”
Following the loony
attempt at industrial
sabotage, the juice bar
manager informed his employer
about the chicken
The owner of a Flatbush Avenue juice bar is accusing Chick-Fil-A management of a fl agrant attempt to
recruit his entire staff to work at the new chicken outpost in Brooklyn. Photo by Derrick Watterson
chain’s shady tactics, and
Franca fired off an angry
email to Chick-fil-A headquarters,
but all he got in
reply was an automated,
cookie-cutter apology for
the “poor customer service.”
“They obviously didn’t
even read my email,” said
Franca. “They just gave
me a copied and pasted
response.”
So far, none of Franca’s
employees have agreed to
join Chick-fil-A’s flock,
but he’s still mad as a wet
hen!
“To have it come from
a big chain like that was
very surprising,” he said.
“It’s one thing that I really
don’t like, and to have
it happen on a mass scale
is just concerning.”
Neither the Chick-fil-A
employee nor anyone from
their corporate offices responded
to request for
comment.
Creped out by
chicken poacher
Prospect Heights juice purveyor says Chick-fi l-A
manager attempted to poach his employees