Record Franchise Sales
Chicken Salad Chick has crossed 350 open restaurants across 27 states while awarding more than 100 franchise units in 2026 — a pace the Atlanta-based fast-casual brand says is on track to surpass its record-breaking 2025. The chain, which bills itself as the only fast-casual concept built entirely around chicken salad, has now expanded well beyond its Southeastern base into the Midwest, Mountain West, and Northeast.
The brand's most significant deal this year was a 25-unit development agreement covering upstate New York — the largest in company history. That agreement will bring locations to Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and the Upper Hudson Valley. Restaurants are also open or under development in Pennsylvania markets including Allentown, Collegeville, and South Pittsburgh, and in Barboursville and S. Charleston, West Virginia. Minnesota and Utah round out the five states where Chicken Salad Chick debuted in 2026.
The Operator Appeal
For multi-unit franchisees evaluating fast-casual expansion opportunities, the brand's consistency in franchise rankings is worth noting. Chicken Salad Chick was named No. 1 on YouGov's Top 20 U.S. Emerging Dining Brands in 2026, ranked No. 150 on the Franchise Times Top 400, earned a spot on QSR magazine's Best Franchise Deals list for four consecutive years, and placed in the top three of Fast Casual's Top 100 Movers & Shakers for six straight years.
"Surpassing 350 restaurants is a proud milestone, but what excites us most is who is helping us get there," said Mark Verges, Vice President of Franchise Development at Chicken Salad Chick. "Every new state we enter is led by owners who share our mission to Spread Joy, Enrich Lives, and Serve Others. That commitment is what allows us to grow at this pace without losing sight of the hospitality that has defined Chicken Salad Chick since day one."
Pipeline and Priorities
With nearly 350 locations in its development pipeline, Chicken Salad Chick is actively recruiting franchisees in New Jersey, New York, and central Pennsylvania. The brand's made-from-scratch menu — spanning more than a dozen chicken salad flavors alongside soups, sides, sandwiches, and catering — has demonstrated crossover appeal in markets far removed from its Southern origins, a signal that the concept's positioning holds outside its legacy footprint.
For operators tracking franchise growth trends in the restaurant industry, the brand's trajectory underscores sustained franchisee demand for differentiated fast-casual concepts with limited direct competition. A niche-focused menu, combined with a catering revenue stream and consistent industry recognition, has helped Chicken Salad Chick attract the experienced multi-unit operators typically required to execute rapid, multi-state expansion at scale.
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.
