Chicken Salad Chick is on track to open more than 50 locations in 2022. The Southern-inspired, fast-casual chicken salad restaurant chain says it has plans to sign agreements for about 60 locations in the next year in target markets across the Midwest and on the East Coast. With roughly 200 restaurants in 17 states, Chicken Salad Chick has set a goal to have 500 locations operating by the end of 2025, reports Chain Store Age.
The company also has announced four new states that are open for franchising: Colorado, New Mexico, Maryland and Pennsylvania. The brand is also seeking single and multi-unit franchise partners in markets across Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, West Virginia, Northern Ohio and the Chicago suburbs.
Chicken Salad Chick experienced a strong year for development in 2021, opening more than 30 new locations and awarding 32 franchise agreements. The company also celebrated a milestone with the opening of its 200th location in August. It also announced plans to expand across the Midwest, with plans to open 50 sites within the next four years, reports CSA.
Notable franchise agreements included a five-unit deal signed in Florida, an eight-unit deal in San Antonio, and most recently, a three-unit deal in Greater Chicago and a five-unit deal in Colorado. The brand also inked deals across the state of Missouri.
"Without a doubt, 2021 proved to be a successful year for us as we continued to spread joy across 17 states and be America's favorite place for chicken salad," said Scott Deviney, CEO of Chicken Salad Chick. “We kickstarted development in four new states and signed on new franchise owners that were on waiting lists to help us grow our nationwide footprint, setting us up with a launchpad for explosive growth and record-setting numbers in 2022.”