4 Regional Chicken Chains You’re About to See Everywhere

04/28/2023

Founded in Fayetteville, Arkansas in 2003, Slim Chickens didn’t even begin franchising until 2013. Fast forward to more recent times, and the brand generated $265 million in system sales between 2019-2021 and operates over 150 locations.

“There are a lot of things that are the same. I still feel so responsible for all 8,000 people that work for the brand,” company co-founder Tom Gordon said recently. “It’s nice to be in a position of financial strength versus scrambling for the first decade. That’s allowed us to do a lot of great things for our company, our franchisees.”

Most Slim Chickens restaurants are located in the South, but the brand is expanding in a major way all over the country. The pandemic didn’t slow the chain down either, with 2020 seeing 20 new locations open and the chain’s first entry into the Florida market.

The company had said that it was aiming to have 600 locations by the end of this decade a few years ago—but Slim Chickens appears set to smash that target by a considerable margin; there are currently over 1,100 units in development. The chain is quickly branching out to new markets such as Las Vegas, Iowa, South Dakota, New Mexico, Montana, and Maryland.

Slim Chickens offers customers 17 house-made sauces to pair with chicken tenders, sandwiches, wings, and more—and every meal is cooked to order. “If you’re talking quick service or fast casual, we set ourselves apart by delivering that fresh quality product,” chief operating officer Sam Rothschild told QSR in 2019.

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