Starbird Chicken, the nation’s first super-premium fast food concept, announced today that at the close of the second quarter, it achieved its third year of positive same store sales growth, with 2021 YTD same store sales coming in at +75% over 2019 and +36% over 2020. The brand increased its location footprint by 28 percent in the first half of 2021 and is slated to enter multiple undisclosed locations in the Bay Area and Los Angeles within the next 24 months. This growth comes on the heels of a successful 2020 despite the pandemic, where Starbird Chicken reported a 36 percent increase in systemwide revenue YOY and industry leading sales per square foot.
“We’re projecting to have in the upwards of 20 locations open and operating by the end of 2022, almost tripling the size of our system since 2020,” says Aaron Noveshen, founder and CEO of Starbird Chicken. “We came out of the gate strong in the first half of the year and are enthusiastic to continue the momentum throughout 2021. We’re energized by how far our brand has come in such a short period of time and look forward to launching our franchise program to bring Starbird Chicken to more fans across the country.”
Known for its hand-crafted, feel good crispy chicken, bold flavors and chef-driven innovation, Starbird Chicken offers an unrivaled customer experience, optimized menu and tech-enabled convenience designed to meet consumers increasing need for convenience and accessibility. Starbird Chicken also recently added a suite of virtual brands under the Starbird name, including Starbird Wings, Starbird Salads, Starbird Bowls and the brand’s new plant-based concept, Gardenbird. Strategically tailored to maximize digital real estate and drive sales through different channels, Starbird’s virtual brands are trending at 16 percent of company wide sales in Q2 2021.
As part of its growth strategy, Starbird Chicken plans to launch a national franchise program by the end of the year, contracting with industry veterans and growth & development experts, Pivotal Growth Partners to build the franchise offering. With locations in streetside storefronts, stadiums, airports, as well as cloud kitchens, the brand is raising an equity round to take advantage of immediate new store growth opportunities in the Bay Area, Southern California and to support franchising growth and expansion in select markets. Starbird Chicken has raised $10 million to date, has negligible debt and is seeking investments for multi-regional growth.
