Chicken Salad Chick will open its newest North Carolina restaurant in Durham on August 4, adding a third unit to the growing Triangle-area footprint of franchisees Mike Saccone and John Schuster. The location at 6807 Fayetteville Road Suite 120 will operate Monday through Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., offering dine-in, patio seating, takeout, third-party delivery, and catering.
The Operators Behind It
Saccone and Schuster are seasoned multi-unit operators who previously managed restaurant-brand partnerships at The Coca-Cola Company — collectively logging more than 55 years in foodservice before entering franchising. They opened their first Chicken Salad Chick in Cary in 2020, followed by a Raleigh unit, and are using the Durham expansion to promote from within: assistant manager Kate Overpeck will lead the new location as its general manager.
"Opening our third Chicken Salad Chick location in the area is an exciting milestone for us," said Saccone. "We're proud to promote Kate Overpeck to lead our new Durham location. Our team embodies Chicken Salad Chick's mission, and we're confident Kate will make a meaningful impact in this community."
CEO Scott Deviney credited the franchisees' Coca-Cola background as part of what makes them effective brand stewards. "I've had the pleasure of knowing John and Mike for many years through their work with The Coca-Cola Company, so I'm thrilled they continue to franchise and expand with Chicken Salad Chick," Deviney said.
Grand Opening Promotions
The Durham launch follows a proven fast casual grand-opening playbook designed to drive trial and app adoption simultaneously. On August 4, the first guest in line receives one free large Quick Chick of chicken salad per week for a full year; guests two through 100 earn one free large Quick Chick per month for a year. Redemption requires downloading the Chicken Salad Chick app and entering a code at purchase — a mechanic that builds the brand's loyalty database while rewarding early visitors.
Weekday promotions continue through August 8, with the first 100 or 50 qualifying purchasers each day receiving branded merchandise including tumblers, cutting boards, tote bags, and dish towels. The staggered incentive structure is a common franchise grand-opening strategy aimed at sustaining traffic across the full launch week rather than concentrating it on a single day.
Brand Scale and Community Focus
Chicken Salad Chick now operates more than 340 restaurants across 24 states, positioning it as the dominant — and self-described only — fast casual concept built exclusively around chicken salad. The brand's scratch-made menu spans more than a dozen chicken salad flavors alongside soups, signature sandwiches, fresh sides, and desserts, giving catering a natural role in the revenue mix.
The Durham team is also using its pre-opening Friends & Family event to raise funds for Duke Children's Hospital. Broader brand philanthropy is channeled through the CSC Foundation, which supports CURE Childhood Cancer and local food banks year-round — a community-investment model that operators in competitive daypart markets increasingly use to accelerate local goodwill ahead of launch.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
