Slim Chickens has opened 231 restaurants so far this year and are on track to open another 40 by the end of the year, according to Jackie Lobde, vice president of franchise development.
Make no mistake, Brad Hoag knows franchising. He grew up in the industry, with his father, Phil Hoag, being the first Burger King franchisee in Maryland back in the mid-1970s.
In high school, he was hired to flip burgers at one of the 40 stores his dad owned, and after college worked his way up to become a restaurant manager and then a partner in his father’s franchise company. He eventually bought five Burger Kings from his dad and carved out his own success as a multi-unit franchisee.
“Having gone to Burger King openings as a kid and learning the business from my father all my life, I guess you can say I have franchising in my DNA,” Brad Hoag said. “Yes, I was very fortunate to have a great role model in my father who has since retired” from franchising “but still has his hands in the real estate end of our business, and continues to be an amazing resource for me.”
Brad Hoag
Hoag is carrying on his father’s franchising legacy with his franchisee group Phoenix Foods. The Baltimore-headquartered company recently signed a multi-unit deal with Slim Chickens in Hoag’s home state of Maryland, giving him the rights to develop eight restaurants in Baltimore, Baltimore City, Harford, Carol and Anne Arundel counties. It’s a territory Hoag knows well, having been raised in the area and being a multi-unit franchisee there with 10 Burger Kings.
Hoag, who at one time owned and sold back to corporate 10 Maryland-based Qdoba restaurants, began exploring QSR chicken brands a few years ago until landing on Slim Chickens. “Quite frankly, they were by far the best brand I talked to and met with. I felt good about the product and I felt good about the people,” he said.
Along with his growing portfolio of fast casual restaurants, Hoag also owns four Nalley Fresh locations in the Baltimore area. He partnered with chef Greg Nalley on the restaurant concept that specializes in salads, wraps and bowls with house-made proteins. Hoag said there are no plans at this time to franchise Nalley Fresh and its 10 Maryland locations, although he may be open to considering it in the future.
“My priority now is to focus on our existing Burger Kings and opening our first Slim Chickens location sometime late next year,” said Hoag.
Slim Chickens was launched in 2003 in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and started franchising in 2014. It has opened over 231 restaurants in 30 states and in the United Kingdom with more than 1,100 locations in development. The brand has opened 29 restaurants so far this year and are on track to open another 40 by the end of the year, according to Jackie Lobde, vice president of franchise development.
In May, Slim Chickens which announced a deal to open 25 restaurants in Southeast Michigan.
The fast-casual chain’s menu features chicken tenders, salads, sandwiches, chicken and waffles, chicken wings with 17 house-made dipping sauces. Most Slim Chickens restaurants are standalone units with drive-thrus, according to Lobde, who said the brand does more dine-in sales as part of its focus on appealing to families.
Slim Chickens’ menu features chicken tenders, salads, sandwiches, chicken and waffles, chicken wings with 17 house-made dipping sauces.
“We probably vet our franchisees as much as they vet us, and Brad and his team are just brilliant operators,” Lobde said. “We looked at Brad’s current locations of Burger Kings and how it operates them and he checked off all the boxes for us.”
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Lobde said Slim Chickens has new franchisees lined up in Washington, Oregon and Idaho and is making a strong push into the Northeast, with New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts being prime targets.
Slim Chickens has an initial investment range of $1.6 million to $4.4 million; average gross sales in 2022 were $2.5 m