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Byron Bay turns its nose up at KFC

Leesha McKenny
Leesha McKenny

"We do have some of these chains but we still don't have the more gratuitous multinational icons or symbols, which a fast food place is" ... Byron Bay Mayor Simon Richardson.
"We do have some of these chains but we still don't have the more gratuitous multinational icons or symbols, which a fast food place is" ... Byron Bay Mayor Simon Richardson.Supplied

KFC sniffs an opportunity for its fried chicken in Byron Bay, the town that famously fought off its golden arch rival McDonald's in the 1990s.

It confirmed plans to set up a franchise in the coastal resort town - alongside Baskin-Robbins, Domino's Pizza, Hogsbreath Cafe and Subway, which have sprung up in the 15 years since residents took to the streets over McDonald's french fries.

''Byron Bay has grown rapidly in the last decade, and we would certainly like to be part of what is now a vibrant commercial centre that features many major chains and retailers,'' a KFC spokesman said.

It intends to discuss its plans with Byron Shire Council before lodging a development application for the new store.

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But a Greens councillor, Duncan Dey, was so disbelieving he had thought the restaurant plan was a hoax.

Mayor Simon Richardson, who has asked for the meeting on Friday, wants KFC to walk away from Byron with the message that despite appearances, the town still didn't want multinationals in its shire - particularly fast food's ''big three''.

''If some suggest that we're dying a death of a thousand cuts it doesn't mean that we're not going to resist those cuts,'' he said, adding Byron's rejection of McDonald's was ''now part of our folklore''. ''We do have some of these chains but we still don't have the more gratuitous multinational icons or symbols, which a fast food place is.''

At stake, opponents fear, is the town's unique character. ''If [tourism] starts to be jeopardised, even by a small percentage of a $400 million a year industry, it would dwarf any economic benefits that a KFC would bring to us,'' Cr Richardson said.

He said Byron's landowners had a ''huge role to play'' in the area's rush of franchises as few smaller businesses could afford Byron's soaring rents.

Plans for a Dan Murphys at a site owned by a Gold Coast developer were recently rejected.

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Leesha McKennyLeesha McKenny is Urban Affairs Reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald

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