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Church's Texas Chicken accelerates remodeling initiative amid expansion

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Church's Texas Chicken
One of Church's Texas Chicken's newly redesigned stores in Tulsa, Okla.

Church’s Texas Chicken continues to remodel its fleet and enter new markets.

The San Antonio-based quick-service chain is ramping up its efforts to remodel existing restaurants to its “Blaze” concept, which features more contemporary and engaging design elements and celebrates the brand’s 70-year-plus Texas heritage. Since the design debuted in 2020, more than 100 restaurants have been reimagined, leading to increased sales and traffic, noted Church’s. Another 400 more remodels are planned for the next three years in the United States.

In addition to remodels, the brand will roll out a new, compact footprint design this year.

“As we look to 2024 and beyond, we are focused on building on this considerable momentum,” said Church’s Texas Chicken CEO Joe Guith. “From a development perspective, there is tremendous opportunity to open in new markets. With the additional investments we are making in people, technology, brand positioning and marketing, operations, real estate market planning and new prototype development, our compass is set and we are well-positioned to continue on this exciting transformation trajectory.” 

Church’s continues to open restaurants in new markets, including recent debuts in Bremerton, Wash., Bryant, Ark., and Tulsa, Okla., with average unit volume surpassing $1 million across the system. In 2023, it also posted a threefold increase in the number of domestic new deal signings compared to the previous year.

Church’s also grew its Texas Chicken international brand last year with multiple new deals signed in Asia, the Caribbean and Middle East. The brand is on track to grow its international footprint by more than 50% over the next five years.

“2023 was a monumental year for the Church’s Texas Chicken and Texas Chicken brands as we significantly grew our footprint and development pipeline, while at the same time, refining our brand positioning and strategy, investing substantially in new capabilities and breaking unit-level sales records across the board,” added Guith.

Globally, Church’s Texas Chicken and Texas Chicken operate more than 1,500 locations in 23 countries and are poised to grow system sales from $1.4 billion to over $2 billion by 2028.Owned by High Bluff Capital Partners since 2021, Church’s celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2022.

The San Antonio-based fast food chain said it is further accelerating its efforts to remodel existing restaurants under the “Blaze” concept, which features more contemporary and engaging design elements. Since the Blaze concept debuted in 2020, more than 100 restaurants have been reimaged leading to increased sales and traffic for the brand. Another 400 more remodels are planned for the next three years in the U.S.

“As we look to 2024 and beyond, we are focused on building on this considerable momentum,” said Church’s Texas Chicken CEO Joe Guith. “From a development perspective, there is tremendous opportunity to open in new markets. With the additional investments we are making in people, technology, brand positioning and marketing, operations, real estate market planning and new prototype development, our compass is set and we are well-positioned to continue on this exciting transformation trajectory.” 

Church’s continues to open restaurants in new markets, including recent openings in Bremerton, Washington, and Bryant, Ark. and Tulsa, Okla., with average unit volume surpassing $1 million across the system. In 2023, it also posted a threefold increase in the number of domestic new deal signings compared to the previous year.

Church’s also grew its Texas Chicken international brand last year with multiple new deals signed in Asia, the Caribbean and Middle East. The brand is on track to grow its international footprint by more than 50% over the next five years.

“2023 was a monumental year for the Church’s Texas Chicken and Texas Chicken brands as we significantly grew our footprint and development pipeline, while at the same time, refining our brand positioning and strategy, investing substantially in new capabilities and breaking unit-level sales records across the board,” added Guith.

Globally, Church’s Texas Chicken and Texas Chicken operate more than 1,500 locations in 23 countries. Owned by High Bluff Capital Partners since 2021, Church’s celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2022.

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