fowling our nest
Popular chicken salad chain flocks to San Antonio with 8 locations
There’s a new chick wattling into town, San Antonio, in the form of scratch-made, Southern-style sandwiches.
Chicken Salad Chick, a concept that was started by an Alabama mom and quickly turned into a much-loved eatery with its launch in 2008, has signed a deal to hatch eight locations in the San Antonio market in the next few years, according to the company.
The eight local Chicken Salad Chick locations will span Bexar, Kendall, Comal, and Hayes counties.
The local expansion, part of a much bigger growth plan for the biz, is led by franchise company Oberon LLC, which was formed by San Antonio natives and restaurant vets James Oberg (owner of Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, which has location across Texas); George Shaw (a partner in Freddy’s); and Jeff Rochelle.
Chicken Salad Chick currently operates 200 restaurants in 17 states, including several in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston areas, and one in Waco, though the incoming eight units will mark the chain’s entrance into the San Antonio market. The local franchisees expect the local growth will add 250 jobs in the Greater San Antonio area.
“Chicken Salad Chick is an established brand that offers a unique concept and delivers quality, scratch-made, and fresh menu items,” an Oberon release notes. “The menu offerings and ease of operations allow for us to tap into a new restaurant concept while also being a part of the massive growth plans that the brand has for expanding further West. Chicken Salad Chick was a natural progression for us because we get to be on the ground floor of a fast-growing brand while benefiting from its established history in the state.”
Chicken Salad Chick’s growth plan includes reaching the 500-location mark by the end of 2025, with the company noting it’s looking to expand its franchise locations across the Lone Star State, targeting such markets as Lubbock, Wichita Falls, Abilene, Midland, San Angelo, Tyler, Laredo, Corpus Christi, Beaumont, McAllen, and Longview.
The franchise partners are currently in the site-selection phase of development in the San Antonio area.
The eatery serves an array of chicken salad scoops and sandwiches, from traditional Southern style to spicy and fruity versions, as well as pimento cheese and egg salad scoops and sandwiches, soups, green salads, and sides.
“It’s exciting to see the success that Chicken Salad Chick has achieved in Texas so far,” says Scott Devaney, CEO of Chicken Salad Chick, in a release. “The Oberon group is a great addition to our brand and they have already hit the ground running as they work towards securing their first location. As we continue to penetrate markets across Texas, with wonderful franchise owners like this group, we look forward to building a loyal fan base in every community and march on with our vision to become America’s favorite place for chicken salad.”
