Fast-Casual Franchise Brand Brings Better Chicken to Wichita
Slim Chickens, a leader in the “better chicken” segment of fast-casual restaurants, is bringing fresh chicken tenders and wings with unrivaled flavor to Wichita, Kansas. This restaurant is the second in Kansas for franchisee, Mark Killeen.
The new restaurant opened at 2313 North Greenwich Street today, Monday, May 1, 2017, adding to Killeen’s one location in Lawrence, Kansas. After signing a five-unit deal with the brand in 2016, Killeen has developed two locations in just one year due to the growing demand for the delicious offerings of Slim Chickens.
Before his success with the Slim Chickens brand, Killeen built a career developing national brands, such as Applebee’s and IHOP. He was introduced to Slim Chickens through a former business associate involved with the Slim Chickens brand, and was quickly impressed. Killeen said he felt that Slim Chickens provided an opportunity to connect past business experience with a ground floor opportunity to build an emerging brand.
“After watching how successful the burger craze was in my previous experience, I wanted to see if I could do that with chicken and offer people a more premium chicken option,” said Killeen.
Killeen was drawn to Slim Chickens’ southern hospitality and commitment to “Life Changing Chicken.”
‘”Life Changing’ is more than just a statement about the quality of our food,” said Killeen, “This is an intention for how we want to run our business. Our passion is to make a difference in people’s lives every day through developing our teams, making customers happy, and impacting our local community. Slims is always a great neighbor and part of the community anywhere they go and we are looking forward to getting into the Wichita community.”
At the root of this “Life Changing Chicken” mantra is the Slim Chickens product itself. With its always fresh, made-to-order chicken tenders and wings and wide variety of housemade dipping sauces and dressings, Slim Chickens provides guests with the ability to customize a meal to satisfy any craving. Earlier this year, the brand launched a Cayenne Ranch Chicken Sandwich, which complements the brand’s chicken tenders and wings and has already exceeded expectations in both sales and guest satisfaction. The sandwich provides an ability to offer a product that customers want, a more portable item and one that delivers on commitment to quality. Slim Chickens also offers fresh salads, wraps and chicken and waffles. To offset the savory side of the menu, rotating desserts served in Mason jars are also available.
“Slim Chickens is about honest food, social meals and a commitment to local communities,” said Slim Chickens Co-Founder and CEO Tom Gordon. “The growing success that we saw in the Lawrence area motivates us to remain an innovative leader in the industry in the upcoming year by fostering our franchise system and expanding our vision into even more new capacities by connecting with valued guests.”
Slim Chickens opened in 2003 in Fayetteville, Arkansas, with a focus on culinary excellence in a fast-casual setting. Guests can always expect fresh chicken tenders and wings cooked to order and served with handmade dipping sauces made from scratch. With more than 50 locations today and a fanatical following in 10 states, the eternally cool brand is an emerging national franchise leading the “better chicken” segment and intends to grow nationwide to a footprint of 600 restaurants over the next decade. Southern hospitality is not just for the South; everyone, everywhere can appreciate honest food and socializing with friends and neighbors. To learn more about the brand, visit slimchickens.com.
