Dive Brief:
- Chicken Salad Chick is targeting 35 restaurant openings for 2023 in the Southeast, Midwest and Southwest, CEO Scott Deviney said in a press release.
- Chicken Salad Chick opened 24 restaurants in 2022, including its first-ever location in the Chicagoland area, the company said in a press release.
- This 2022 growth represents a 10% increase in unit count year-over-year, the company said.
Dive Insight:
The company, which reported a 20% increase in systemwide sales to $306.8 million last year, continues to attract new franchisees. Chicken Salad Chick also reported positive comps within the last 24 of 28 quarters.
The fast casual chain, which now has 225 units across 17 states, signed 24 franchise agreements with new and existing operators to open 38 restaurants in the next few years in states including Texas, Colorado and New Mexico. Within Texas, the company signed two franchise agreements in 2022 to bring 16 new restaurants to Austin and San Antonio. Last year, the company broke ground on its first Colorado location, which is expected to open in April.
Additionally, the company rolled out back-of-house food and labor cost management tools that led to improved profitability and operational efficiencies across its system. These tools helped lead to a high number of restaurants operating at lower food and labor percentages, the company said.
Chicken Salad Chick has opportunities available for franchisees in Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, as well as within the Midwest in states like Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa. The company also opened up Maryland, Delaware, Michigan and Wisconsin to prospective franchisees. The chain prefers to work with franchisees with restaurant experience and candidates would have a minimum net worth of $750,000 and liquidity of $250,000. The franchise fee is $50,000 and initial investment is about $762,000 to $980,000.
