AUSTIN, TEXAS — Chicken Salad Chick, the only chicken salad concept quick-service restaurant chain in the country, signed franchise agreements that will bring nearly 20 new restaurants to Texas over the next five years. Expanding upon its 21 current locations in Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston, the two new deals will add 16 locations to the state, including eight units in San Antonio and eight in Austin.

“As our brand awareness and guest loyalty continue to increase, we are seeing a demand in franchise opportunities throughout the state,” said Scott Deviney, chief executive officer of Chicken Salad Chick. “It is exciting to see Chicken Salad Chick’s southern expansion in action. We're more than humbled to support our franchisees as they continue to thrive in markets across Texas and look forward to seeing how communities across the state respond to the product.”

OberRoc LLC, a franchise company formed by James Oberg, Jeff Rochelle and George Shaw with the goal of growing innovative restaurant concepts in the Greater San Antonio area, is responsible for the San Francisco development. Development is already underway, with the first location scheduled to open by the end of the year and the second to open by Q2 2023.

Current owners of Chicken Salad Chick – Waco, Austin Young and Sara Ingram, are behind the Austin agreement, through which they plan to open eight units in the city over the next three years.

“Austin is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, and we're very excited to introduce the brand to such a booming market,” Young said. “As a young business owner, Chicken Salad Chick has been so welcoming and supportive — with great core values in both operations and customer services on top of its quality menu offerings. This eight-unit deal was a natural next step in our career with the brand because we get to be on the ground floor of a fast-growing, fan-favorite concept.”

Additional development is expected for the Dallas-Fort Worth area with established Chicken Salad Chick franchise groups. Hazel 5 Ventures LLC currently owns six locations in the Fort Worth area and plans to add five more locations to Greater Dallas over the next three years. Metroplex CSC LLC currently owns three locations in the Dallas area, with plans to add 12 more in the next five years. The group also plans to open a new location in Frisco by the end of 2022.

Chicken Salad Chick currently has 200 franchises across 17 states and plans to open more than 40 locations in 2022, which will help propel it toward achieving its overall development goal of reaching 500 operating locations by the end of 2025.