Chicken Salad Chick, the nation’s only fast casual chicken salad restaurant concept, announced today that it opened 30 new restaurants in key target markets throughout 2021, resulting in a 17% increase in unit count year-over-year. The openings included market debuts with multiple locations in Indianapolis, Western Virginia and South Florida. The fast-growing brand also signed franchise agreements with both new and existing franchisees to develop 32 new restaurants over the next several years in target states. These will be part of the plan to open over 50 new restaurants in 2022. In addition to this impressive growth, Chicken Salad Chick is reporting $255 million in systemwide sales, a 46% increase over 2020. In the second half of the year alone, the company outpaced the restaurant industry’s average monthly sales growth by more than 14 percentage points.

“The Chicken Salad Chick community—our fans and our dedicated restaurant teams and support center staff—continue to show us year after year how together we are stronger than any adversity we may be facing,” says Scott Deviney, CEO of Chicken Salad Chick. “There were challenges in 2021, but our brand grew right past them by expanding our continued focus on the Chick experience. Whether through in-restaurant dining, takeout, drive-thru, catering or third-party delivery, we brought our flavorful, made-from-scratch favorites to new and existing guests. Our sales and development momentum is setting us up for another strong year of enriching lives and serving others.” 

Chicken Salad Chick started strong in 2021 with impressive sales growth across all of its guest access channels with dine-in, takeout, drive-thru, digital ordering and delivery and catering, and the trend continued.

Milestones and successes throughout the past year include:

Rolled out third-party delivery through UberEats and DoorDash integrated with the brand’s online ordering partner OLO/Rails, which grew to over 7% of total monthly system sales by the end of December 2021.

Branded box lunch catering options, which offer individualized portions of chicken salad meals, made up more than 75% of the company’s catering product mix, resulting in a double-digit catering sales increase over 2019.

Opening of the brand’s 200th location in LaGrange, Georgia.

Highest ever sales for each of the company’s brand calendar events including Guest Appreciation Day in January, Mother’s Day 2 Day Celebration in May and Veteran’s Day in November.

Significantly grew the Annual Giving Card program, which raises money for the CSC Foundation to support childhood cancer and feeding the hungry. The anticipated donation amount for 2021 is 50% higher than the previous year.

Continued menu creativity, including launching exclusive seasonal flavors such as Deck The Holly, a holiday twist adding cranberries to the popular Holly Jalapeño chicken salad.

 

“Our brand has been focused on made-from-scratch menu items with distinct flavor profiles from the beginning and will continue to be because we know that is what our guests crave,” says Deviney. “Whether it’s fresh ingredients in our restaurants or new chicken salad flavors created by our innovative team, Chicken Salad Chick’s creativity on the menu helps us stand out in the crowded fast casual marketplace.” 

Further reinforcing Chicken Salad Chick’s success, the brand continues to receive multiple industry accolades, including placement on the prestigious Entrepreneur Franchise 500 as well as being named one of the outlet’s Top Food Franchises, Fastest Growing Franchises, and Hottest Franchises. Additionally, Chicken Salad Chick ranked third in Fast Casual’s Top 100 Movers and Shaker’s list, up over 20 spots from last year, and was placed on Franchise Gator’s Top 100 and Fastest Growing Franchises lists. 

Chicken Salad Chick continues to target states like Virginia, West Virginia, Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, in the Southern, Midwest regions for franchise development and is actively seeking individuals with an entrepreneurial spirit who possess high energy and enthusiasm for the brand, marketing skills and the ability to manage a strong team. Restaurant experience is preferred. Interested candidates should have a minimum net worth of $600,000 and liquid assets of at least $200,000. Franchisees can expect the initial investment to be approximately $562,000 – $740,000 with a $50,000 initial franchise fee.