Chicken Salad Chick acquired Atlana-based bakery Piece of Cake.
The menu at Chicken Salad Chick is about to get sweeter.
The 245-unit franchise acquired Atlanta-based Piece of Cake November 1. Piece of Cake has stores in the Atlanta area and bakes cakes at one bakery before shipping them out to its 10 retail locations twice a day. Now, Chicken Salad Chick will serve a handful of flavors by the slice and as whole cakes at its stores nationwide.
Scott Deviney leads Chicken Salad Chick as CEO.
“The idea of a dessert offering was something we were selling anyway,” Chicken Salad Chick CEO Scott Deviney said. Atlanta residents are familiar with the brand, he said. “It’s very well-known because it’s a great-tasting product.”
Chicken Salad Chick is a made-from-scratch chicken salad franchise that has more than a dozen varieties on the menu, like spicy “Kickin’ Kay Lynne” with buffalo sauce and fruity “Fancy Nancy” with apples and grapes. The brand also sells pimento cheese, egg salad, soups and salads. In a crowded chicken sector, Chicken Salad Chick stands out for its unique offerings outside of the traditional chicken sandwich or wings.
Following the acquisition, in the works for about six months, not much is changing at Piece of Cake, except the company will increase its baking capacity. Still, the cakes will not be made onsite, and instead will be delivered to each store.
Piece of Cake will continue to operate its 10 Atlanta stores like normal and all the brand’s employees will retain their jobs. Founder Melissa Jernigan will stay on as the company’s “Cakexpert.”
Chicken Salad Chick finished 2022 with $306.8 million in systemwide sales across 220 units, 71 percent of which are franchised. That’s a 20.3 percent increase in sales over 2021 and a 7.3 percent increase in unit count. Brentwood Associates bought the brand in 2019. Brentwood’s other investments include Hissho Sushi, Blaze Pizza and Orangetheory Fitness.
Related: Arlington Franchisees Sign 8-Unit Deal With Chicken Salad Chick
Piece of Cake’s products will show up in the form of two flavors plus a limited-time offer options, Deviney said. The menu addition will also enhance Chicken Salad Chick’s catering services.
Chicken Salad Chick has announced numerous development agreements and openings lately, like a three-unit deal in western Texas, a new store in Charleston, South Carolina, and an eight-unit deal in Arlington, Virginia.