Noble Chicken is a spinoff of Wings and Rings. | Photo courtesy of Noble Chicken.
Noble Chicken. Rooster and Rice. Urban Bird. Ponko Chicken.
These are just a few of the emerging brands in the increasingly crowded fast-casual chicken space. And it’s not just about chicken sandwiches.
Welcome to the inaugural column about emerging brands—or what we call Buzzworthy Brands—young, growing chain concepts, about which there is no shortage of news.
This column will not be exclusively about chicken concepts, of course. But it is clear the entrepreneurs who are looking to grow the Next Hot Brand are tapping into a collective consumer craving for chicken, particularly boneless fried tenders (but not always).
And it’s not just the fast-casual segment.
For years, quick-service operators have been looking for ways to take share in both chicken and beverages, a move brought into focus last week by McDonald’s creation of specialist Restaurant Experience Teams to focus on burgers, chicken, and beverages/desserts.
And then there are the high-flying chicken brands inspiring the younger upstarts. Chick-fil-A is No. 3 on the 2024 Technomic Top 500 restaurant chain ranking. Raising Cane’s is gunning to reach the Top 10 on that list, ending 2024 with 878 units and topping $5 billion in sales. Wingstop had a record year in 2024 with domestic same-store sales up 20%, mostly driven by traffic. Dave’s Hot Chicken is spreading its Reaper spice coast to coast and is rumored to be in the process of being acquired by Roark Capital.
These are chains that are also growing rapidly, with plenty of capital for expansion (or franchisees keen to add units). But that doesn’t stop newer players from planting their flags, perhaps even borrowing an idea or two, and carving out an audience with something a little different.
Here are just a few.
The flagship Noble Chicken in Cincinnati opened earlier this month. | Photo courtesy of Noble Chicken.
Noble Chicken is a fast-casual concept launched by the folks behind Wings and Rings. The flagship unit opened in Cincinnati, Ohio, earlier this month, and the company is hoping to franchise the brand, looking at the Midwest, South and Southwest.
Wings and Rings, previously known as Buffalo Wings and Rings, is a sports bar concept with about 60 units. Chicken wings and other chicken offerings have long been on the menu there. (Fast-casual spinoffs by full-service chains more generally, it should be noted, have not had great results.)
Noble Chicken was born in part after the wings were entered in a competition in Cincinnati. The company tested the spinoff first in a ghost kitchen, and later in a food court before moving forward with the standalone brick and mortar.
Rooster and Rice has a Thai spin to the menu. | Photo courtesy of Rooster and Rice.
Rooster and Rice, meanwhile, was founded in 2015 in the San Francisco Bay Area by Bryan Lew and Tommy Charoen, who in 2019 partnered with Aroi Hospitality Group (which includes former founders of the food delivery app Caviar).
Here, the menu is all about khao mun gai, or Thai-style chicken and rice, which is not fried, though some units include panko-crusted chicken thigh cutlets and larb popcorn chicken, as well as fried chicken skins as a side.
The franchise brand boasts 10 units on its website, and this week franchisee Gore Song, who operates a unit in Irvine, California, opened a second location in nearby Costa Mesa.
The concept’s mission is to bring a nutrient-dense, high-protein and low-sodium menu to the masses.
“We saw firsthand in Irvine how deeply people connected with our food—not just because it’s delicious, but because it’s wholesome, simple and consistently satisfying,” Song said in a statement.
Houston-based Urban Bird is preparing to franchise. | Photo courtesy of Urban Bird.
In Texas, meanwhile, former Wingstop franchisee Brandon Gawthorp is growing the hot-chicken concept Urban Bird Hot Chicken, which has 16 company-owned units across the state and expects to reach 29 by the end of the year.
It’s a concept Gawthorp plans to start franchising, later this year or next year.
He developed Urban Bird after falling in love with spicy hot chicken on a trip to Las Vegas. At the time, there’s wasn’t much in the way of hot chicken in his hometown of Houston, so he created Urban Bird, offering tenders and “sandos” with various spice levels, but also chicken and waffles, both crinkle-cut and sweet potato fries, and sides like Hot Cheeto-topped mac and cheese, and a cup of seasoned street corn in the style of elote.
And, though Urban Bird offers spice levels ranging from “country” (no heat) to “fire in the hole” (which promises to “burn you twice”), Gawthorp has also added chicken flavors that include simple lemon-pepper or barbecue.
“There’s a lot of people who don’t want the heat,” he said. “I was amazed at the number of people who would come and just get regular chicken.”
Former Zaxby’s franchisees are planning to open the first drive-thru unit of Ponko Chicken in Georgia. | Photo courtesy of Ponko Chicken
And then, out of Atlanta, there is Ponko Chicken.
Another franchise brand, this concept focuses on panko-crust chicken tenders, in the Japanese style, fried in rice bran oil, which owner Patrick Sallarulo contends is more healthful, with cholesterol-lowering properties. But the menu also includes non-fried teriyaki and grilled chicken options, as plates, tacos, sandwiches or salad meals. Fries are dusted with furikake seasoning.
Ponko was founded by sisters Maggie Antoine and Reiko Clark with an East-meets-West fusion menu, but their early units went under in 2008. The concept was acquired by Sallarulo, who said he was their chiropractor at the time. He had fallen in love with the food and, after opening a flagship unit in 2017, decided to franchise the brand.
Now with seven units, Ponko is expecting to see its first drive-thru location, coming to Newnan, Georgia, and opened by franchisees Bill and William Young, former Zaxby’s operators, who are planning two more in what is the brand’s first multi-unit agreement.
Sallarulo tweaked the brand a bit. Early units had a bar, for example (and some still do), but he moved the brand more into fast-casual territory, adding a bakery so the menu now includes cakes and cookies to add incremental sales.
Units average between $1.7 million and $1.8 million, he said. Franchising was paused for a bit during the inflationary post-COVID-19 years, but now he’s hoping to see the chain grow, especially with drive-thrus and smaller formats.
“I put it off because of inflation and I wanted to build a strong foundation,” said Sallarulo. “I’m 68, and people ask me why I do this. I do it because I’m not dead.”
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.
ADVERTISEMENT:
sobat, pencinta slots Pernah denger istilah “raja slot Kalau? belum bersiaplah, hati jatuh sama konsep slot gacor ini. adalah slots mesin selalu yang memberi win Ya. slot-slot, disebut ini bisa adalah jagoannya buat membawa pulang cuan. but cemana, caranya sih jumpain slot demo benar yang Santuy? Bro and Sis bahas, kita tenang saja di sini Gaming
terpercaya saat sekarang hanya satu di hanya di Indonesia pasti menyediakan imbal hasil tertinggi Daftarkanlah
dengan hanya di :
Informasi mengenai KING SLOT, Segera Daftar Bersama king selot terbaik dan terpercaya no satu di Indonesia. Boleh mendaftar melalui sini king slot serta memberikan hasil kembali yang paling tinggi saat sekarang ini hanyalah KING SLOT atau Raja slot paling gacor, gilak dan gaco saat sekarang di Indonesia melalui program return tinggi di kingselot serta pg king slot
slot demo gacor
slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun demo slot gacor
akun demo slot gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun slot demo gacor
akun slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun demo slot pragmatic
akun demo slot pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun slot demo pragmatic
akun slot demo pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun slot demo
akun slot demo permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun demo slot
akun demo slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
slot demo gacor
slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun demo slot gacor
akun demo slot gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun slot demo gacor
akun slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun demo slot pragmatic
akun demo slot pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun slot demo pragmatic
akun slot demo pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun slot demo
akun slot demo permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun demo slot
akun demo slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
slot demo gacor
slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun demo slot gacor
akun demo slot gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun slot demo gacor
akun slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun demo slot pragmatic
akun demo slot pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun slot demo pragmatic
akun slot demo pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun slot demo
akun slot demo permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun demo slot
akun demo slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
slot demo gacor
slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun demo slot gacor
akun demo slot gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun slot demo gacor
akun slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun demo slot pragmatic
akun demo slot pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun slot demo pragmatic
akun slot demo pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun slot demo
akun slot demo permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun demo slot
akun demo slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
situs slot terbaru
situs slot terbaru permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
slot terbaru
slot terbaru permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
merek 88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama merek88.net
merek 88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama merek88.com
mantan99 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama mantan99.asia
mantan88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama mantan88.asia
maksimal88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama maksimal88.biz
maksimal88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama maksimal88.asia
liburan88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama liburan88.com
indodax88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama indodax88.org
indah99 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama indah99.asia
indah88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama indah88.asia
ikn88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama ikn88.asia
ibukota88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama ibukota88.com
huawei88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama huawei88.asia
hot888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama hot888.asia
hot88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama hot88.sale
dingin88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama dingin88.net
citra88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama citra88.asia
binance88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama binance88.net
best99 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama best99.info
best88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama best88.asia
tradisional 88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama tradisional88.net
tradisional 88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama tradisional88.com
tombol88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama tombol88.org
tombol88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama tombol88.net
survey88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama survey88.net
survey88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama survey88.com
start88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama start88.org
start88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama start88.asia
obatkuat88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama obatkuat88.net
obatkuat88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama obatkuat88.com
mcb88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama mcb88.info
mcb88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama mcb88.asia
master99 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama master99.biz
master888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama master888.asia
master88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama master88.asia
live88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama live88.bio
live88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama live88.asia
libra88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama libra88.net
kompresor88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kompresor88.net
kompresor88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kompresor88.com
kesimpulan88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kesimpulan88.net
kesimpulan88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kesimpulan88.com
kapasitor88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kapasitor88.net
kapasitor88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kapasitor88.com
kacamata88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kacamata88.net
kacamata88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kacamata88.com
jamu88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jamu88.info
jamu88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jamu88.asia
jam88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jam88.info
jam88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jam88.asia
follow88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama follow88.org
follow88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama follow88.net
dinamo88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama dinamo88.net
dinamo88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama dinamo88.info
baterai88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama baterai88.net
baterai88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama baterai88.com
miegacoan permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama miegacoan.life
miegacoan permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama miegacoan.asia
gacoan permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gacoan.org
gacoan permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gacoan.asia
website88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama website88.org
waweb88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama waweb88.net
waweb88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama waweb88.com
translate88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama translate88.net
translate88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama translate88.com
tempur888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama tempur888.info
tempur888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama tempur888.asia
tambang99 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama tambang99.news
tambang99 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama tambang99.asia
support88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama support88.org
support88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama support88.net
support88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama support88.asia
sogoslot88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama sogoslot88.asia
siap88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama siap88.news
siap88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama siap88.asia
rog88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama rog88.asia
rog77 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama rog77.info
pt88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama pt88.info
pt88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama pt88.asia
pln88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama pln88.biz
pln88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama pln88.asia
oke99 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama oke99.asia
oke88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama oke88.asia
mining88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama mining88.org
livechat88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama livechat88.info
livechat88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama livechat88.asia
listrik88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama listrik88.org
listrik88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama listrik88.info
listrik88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama listrik88.asia
freeport88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama freeport88.net
freeport88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama freeport88.com
free88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama free88.org
free88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama free88.asia
domain88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama domain88.org
domain88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama domain88.asia
dokter888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama dokter888.net
dokter888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama dokter888.asia
bmkg88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama bmkg88.net
bmkg88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama bmkg88.com
asn88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama asn88.org
