February 3, 2008
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Atlanta-based Church's Chicken opened its 1,600th restaurant worldwide Dec. 20, 2007, in Blue Springs, Mo., with franchisee Shan Ali of SNSA Inc., who owns 13 Church's restaurants.
The store is a "snap-on" location, sharing space with the local Conoco gas station and is the result of a conversion, a development strategy offered to all Church's franchisees. The brand's architecture and design team has the ability to convert several types of pre-existing buildings into a Church's prototype, which allows franchisees to maintain their current location while saving time and money when developing a Church's restaurant.
Many of Church's target markets are under-penetrated, providing opportunities for significant growth, according to a news release. The company's goal for 2008 is to open 150 restaurants globally.