Slim Chickens has earned an impressive amount of awards over the past few years. For one, the rapidly growing chicken concept was named QSR magazine’s Breakthrough Brand of the Year. The brand was also added to Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500 list in February 2023. 

One piece of recognition that stands out to Slim Chickens’ leadership, however, was being added to Franchise Business Review’s Top 2023 Franchise list. Why? Because the award is based on franchisee satisfaction and performance—things that the brand has made its calling card since it began franchising in 2013.

“We have spent a lot of time and investment in the people that enable us to do this,” Slim Chickens COO Sam Rothschild told Franchising.com in February. “We understand what it takes to support our franchisees and we have the systems and processes in place to do so. We are honored to have the quality of franchisees that we have today and are eager to continue the momentum.” 

Franchisee support at Slim Chickens includes a five-to-six week immersive training program. The brand’s marketing and advertising support begins before a store even opens, and continues in an ongoing fashion. Each franchisee has technology at their fingertips to help ensure running the business is as smooth as possible. 

Those boilerplate features really just scratch the surface of what it’s like to franchise with Slim Chickens, however, says franchisee Jeff McCoy, owner of eight Slims’ locations in Oklahoma. McCoy and his team are scheduled to open six more locations in the Kansas City area, where McCoy grew up in a family that was a large, multi-unit franchisee group with Pizza Hut. About four years ago, McCoy had gotten a tip about Slim Chickens from somebody who he banked with and decided to check it out. 

For McCoy, several things stood out about Slim Chickens. First, there was the menu, consisting of hand-breaded, cooked-to-order chicken tenders, wings, sandwiches, wraps, and salads. The brand also has a fun and lucrative beverage menu, from the sweet tea that emphasizes its Southern roots, to hand-spun milkshakes. 

“The food is just really, really good,” McCoy says. “There’s really no other way to put it.” 

McCoy also loved the fact that Slim Chickens was a relatively young brand that was determined to grow its business—the company currently has over 230 locations open worldwide, with over 1,100 more in the pipeline. 

“I wasn’t really interested in buying into the headaches of a larger company,” McCoy says. “Slims was in growth mode, and they were really open and flexible about doing whatever it took to help grow the business. That’s a big thing that I’d say about the Slim Chickens team—I’m very complimentary of their willingness to listen and pivot and do things differently sometimes.” 

One of the occasions when the Slim Chickens team showed just how flexible and innovative it could be was at the outset of the pandemic. While the brand previously had an even split between sit-down dining and takeout, off-premises sales skyrocketed during COVID. “They recognized that they had a different concept on their hands,” McCoy says. “We had this great meeting where they were seeking franchisee input and also just telling us a bit about where they saw the business in two, three, four, five years. Then they made adjustments that have yielded strong results.” 

The support franchisees receive trickles downward, McCoy says. When franchisees and managers can focus on running the business and putting people in place to facilitate a great customer service experience at each one of their storefronts, it also creates an inviting place to work. While labor has been a massive challenge for every quick-service brand, McCoy says he and his team have been able to retain employees and keep them engaged. 

“One of the things I really appreciate about Slim Chickens is that it’s simple and effective,” McCoy says. “Too often restaurant concepts can just be overly complex. This is a pretty simple concept to operate. Labor is getting very different in the quick-service world. This is a concept that takes a difficult job and makes it easy.” 

For more on franchising with Slim Chickens, visit the brand’s franchising page.