Founded by Shawn Lalehzarian in 2018 and franchising since 2021, Red Chickz and has four locations in Los Angeles, Culver City and Carlsbad, California, and Cypress, Texas, with another 24 locations in development.
Along with owning and operating 10 hotels, five fine-dining restaurants, two real estate offices and a jewelry store, Kamran Awan’s company also has development deals with Pet Supplies Plus, The Halal Guys and Cookie Plug stores in North Carolina.
The serial entrepreneur and founder and CEO of Mega Hotel Management is not done expanding his franchise portfolio. He signed a 10-unit deal with Red Chickz to bring the Nashville hot chicken chain to his home state of North Carolina.
Awan anticipates opening his first Red Chickz in Charlotte sometime next year as his Greensboro, North Carolina-based company actively scouts future locations in Raleigh and Durham; those units will likely take three to four years to open, he said.
Kamran Awan is founder and CEO of Mega Hotel Management.
“Red Chickz is not in North Carolina or even on this side of the United States at all, so we are excited and honored to be the first to bring it here,” Awan said.
Founded by Shawn Lalehzarian in 2018 and franchising since 2021, Red Chickz and has four locations in Los Angeles, Culver City and Carlsbad, California, and Cypress, Texas, with another 24 locations in development.
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Along with Nashville-style hot chicken sandwiches available in six different spice levels, the quick-service restaurant offers honey butter and French toast sandwiches, tacos, jumbo shrimp and cauliflower bites. Sides include cheese curds and corn ribs.
“It caters to a lot of different segments with a wide audience, which will help us grow the brand here,” said Eibaad Ahmed, director of operations for Mega Group, the operating arm of Awan’s franchise business.
Ahmed, who like Awan is from Pakistan, said Mega Hotel Management has about 330 employees and generates between $30 million and $35 million in sales across all its businesses.
“Kamran Awan’s extensive experience and successful track record in the franchising industry make him the perfect partner to help us spread our ‘Hotter Than You’ mantra beyond California,” said Lalehzarian.
Awan’s company owns and manages Motel Six, Fairfield Inn and Suites, Hampton Properties and Best Western Plus hotels along with nearly a half dozen full-service Pakistani and Indian restaurants. It became a franchise operator in 2021 when it acquired a corporate-owned Vitamin Shoppe with an agreement to open two more locations in North Carolina. Mega Group later added development deals with The Halal Guys, Pet Supplies Plus and Cookie Plug.
The company opened three Cookie Plugs in Greensboro and is planning to open its first Halal Guys in the next couple of months in Charlotte, said Aman.
“Franchising our Pakistan-themed restaurants has crossed our minds, but the thing is it’s very difficult to scale something like that because Pakistani food is generally a little more complex to make because it has a lot spices and many ingredients. You also have to find and train the right set of chefs, which isn’t an easy thing to do,” Awan said.
“So, instead in investing further into that we decided to go with Halal Guys, Cookie Plug and now Red Chickz, which we feel are much easier to operate with less employees and keep the quality of the food consistent,” he said.
Awan said another thing that sold him on Red Chickz was Lalehzarian, an Iranian immigrant and CEO of the company. He said when he initially met with him to talk about bringing the brand to the East Coast, Lalehzarian took the time to explain his personal experience in the restaurant industry and why he opened Red Chickz.
He said he also aligns with Lalehzarian’s disciplined approach to development.
“He’s not rushing to sign up franchisees and get rich from deals,” Awan said. “He is being very careful about who he wants running his restaurants. He wants to see growth for the brand, yes, but he’s not after the fast dollars which I think is smart.”