Franchising

Southern Classic partnership steps up chain's growth efforts

Photo: File/provided.

May 5, 2021

Louisiana-based Southern Classic Chicken, which began franchising last year, is working with Franchise Marketing Systems to expand the 17-store chain across Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Texas, a news release said.

The company said its combination of a limited-item menu, along with drive-thru and walk-up stores, has proved resilient throughout the pandemic. In fact, last year, the chain reported a 20% increase in systemwide sales, which it said sets the chain up well for growth.

"Southern Classic Chicken's drive-thru and walk-up models have contributed greatly to our success, and we believe these models are attractive to those looking to get into the restaurant franchise space during this time," Nick Binnings, Southern Classic's director of brand development, said in the release. "We wanted to find an organization that could benefit the brand, our current franchisees and our future franchisees."

The brand found that, as the country re-opens, creating early traction and developing a partnership to meet their expansion needs was critical.

"The chicken market is experiencing massive growth," Franchise Marketing Systems President Chris Conner said in the release. "Southern Classic Chicken has a fantastic product, reputable brand and simple operating model, all the components to create a favorable national footprint. Our focus is to keep assist their regional growth in the southern United States. A combination of our resources from the franchise development and marketing stand point in tandem with Southern Classic Chicken's successful brand provides us the tools to generate exponential growth."

This partnership will benefit Southern Classic Chicken through developing a team solely focused and held accountable on their franchise development. Franchise Marketing Systems will structurally assist Southern Classic Chicken with operational support and organized structure through providing training manuals, educating franchisees and developing marketing collateral. Additionally, they'll help develop a full-time sales team in order to attract new franchisees.

The QSR, founded in 1989, said that including its $40,000 franchise fee, initial investment to open a Southern Classic Chicken franchise is $441,500 to $1,057,000.