Daddy’s Chicken Shack is soaring to impressive heights with a newly signed regional developer deal that’s driving the emerging brand towards rapid growth in The Golden State.
In the ever-evolving and competitive fast casual industry, Daddy’s Chicken Shack is redefining the chicken category with its elevated, chef-driven menu and highly advanced, tech-enabled operations. Just four years after its 2018 inception, the brand is capitalizing on these differentiators and garnering attention from esteemed restaurant operators like Blair Salisbury and Robin Bieker, who just signed a 20-unit regional developer deal in the concept’s home state of California.
As the newest regional developers to invest in Daddy’s Chicken Shack, both Salisbury and Bieker are well connected to California with other prosperous business ventures, including ownership of the El Cholo in Pasadena. As early fans and repeat customers of Daddy’s Pasadena location, the duo brings intense passion and commitment to spearheading the brand’s growth in California. Looking to open their first restaurant by year-end, Salisbury and Bieker are currently eyeing real estate in Santa Clarita and elsewhere throughout Los Angeles County.
“I’ve been in the restaurant industry for as long as I can remember with four generations of restaurant ownership in my family. At this point, I’m confident in saying that this line of business runs in my blood,” says Salisbury, who is also a multi-unit operator with El Cholo. “Knowing what it takes to run successful operations in this industry, I’m able to recognize a stellar business model when I see one– and Daddy’s Chicken Shack is just that. Both Pace and Chris are mastering their craft with this innovative concept and have proven that especially amid the pandemic when they doubled their business. Robin and I are thrilled to be joining the brand during this early growth stage.”
With distinguished careers in both the restaurant and real estate industry, Salisbury and Bieker bring an insightful and unique perspective to the table. Salisbury, whose family established the wildly popular Mexican restaurant El Cholo in California, was raised in the heart of the industry and is a seasoned veteran when it comes to growth and expansion. Similarly, Bieker has experience in both the restaurant franchise and commercial real estate fields for over 30 years. The two joined forces after Bieker became a primary investor in El Cholo, and are now committed to bringing their expertise to Daddy’s Chicken Shack.
“Chris and I have put everything we have into building a strong foundation for this brand. For us, there is nothing more validating than having two industry professionals like Blair and Robin be committed to growing with us,” says Pace Webb, who serves as CEO and leads the brand with Chris Georgalas, her husband and president of the brand. “Attracting franchise partners like this dynamic duo shows us that we’re on the right track on our groundbreaking growth journey. As some of the first regional developers, these are the people who will help us solidify our reputation as an industry leader, and I’m honored to welcome them as franchise partners.”
Salisbury and Bieker’s 20-unit agreement comes on the heels of another historic signing, Daddy’s first regional developer deal for 20-units, 10 in Phoenix and 10 in Denver, with its investor turned franchisee, Dave Liniger, co-founder of RE/MAX. All three share a belief in Daddy’s that stems from several factors, with its signature chicken sandwiches at the top of the list. Webb, an accomplished entrepreneur and chef, handcrafted each menu item. She perfected a flavor profile unlike any other that blends her own Southern U.S. roots with tastes from Southeast Asia. The chicken is brined overnight in buttermilk, then double-battered to a crispy finish. The result is a menu filled with sandwiches, bowls and sides capturing cult-like fanfare in its Southern California home market and soon well beyond.
Launching in 2018, Daddy’s business model is deeply entrenched in technology. A brand ahead of the curve with front-end technology, the restaurant was designed to facilitate online ordering, app engagement, in-store web-enabled tech, exclusive pick-up areas and third-party delivery partnerships. Plus, Georgalas’ vision included a dynamic backend technology suite that fosters real-time data to better serve customers, employees and vendors.
With a regional development deal in place for Salisbury and Bieker, their immediate focus lies solely on their first location together. From there, the pair will begin actively marketing the franchise opportunity to qualified individuals who will carry on the Daddy’s Chicken Shack growth.
Ideal franchise candidates have a desire to provide quality, fresh ingredients to customers along with the idea of leveraging an unforgettable experience in bringing people together. The brand aims to attract individuals and groups with previous restaurant experience and who resonate with the brand’s values of bringing sunshine to communities by honoring inclusivity, good food and a memorable guest experience.