Wichita restaurant chain announced franchising plans in March, now has out-of-state deal
.jpeg "Chick N Max, a Wichita based restaurant concept, is now expanding into South Dakota.")
Chick N Max owner Max Sheets announced earlier this year his plans to start franchising his restaurant concept, which he launched in Wichita in 2017.
Now, he’s done it.
A franchisee in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, plans to open a “three pack” of restaurants in that town, which has a population of nearly 200,000 and is the state’s largest city. They’re now in the process of selecting sites, Sheets said.
“Sioux falls is just a dynamic market,” he said. “It’s just hot right now. It’s just booming, and we’re really excited to be part of that community and all the growth going on there.”
Sheets, who hopes to spread his concept out around the Central and Southeastern United States, said he’s also in talks with franchisees in states other than South Dakota and Kansas and could have more announcements soon. He’s hoping franchising agreements will help him double the number of Chick N Max restaurants operating by the end of next year and that the chain will be able to add as many as five new restaurants each year after that.
“It’s a big step,” he said of the Sioux Falls deal. “It’s going to help create awareness for the brand and continue to validate that we have this unique niche within the chicken segment.”
What makes the restaurant unique, Sheets said, is that it offers both fried chicken tenders and smoked chicken.
Meanwhile, he said, construction has started on his fourth Wichita Chick N Max, which is taking over an old Wendy’s building at 5510 E. Central that in recent years has been home to a salon and spa. Sheets said that the restaurant is on track to open in the first quarter of next year.
He also hopes, he said, that by early next year, he’ll have found a spot to open another Chick N Max in the Wichita area.
It’s been a big month for Chick N Max, which in early October also won an award at the Fast Casual Executive Summit in Charlotte, North Carolina. The meeting of top restaurant executives from around the country always includes a session called “The Perfect Pitch,” which invites five up-and-coming restaurant entrepreneurs to pitch their concepts, “Shark Tank Style.” The audience picks the winner.
Sheets’ pitch was initially chosen as the runner-up winner. But when it was revealed that winner Asian John’s didn’t yet have a location in operation, that concept was disqualified, and Chick N Max was named the winner, earning a $3,500 prize.
Since starting the concept in Wichita four years ago, Sheets has grown Chick N Max to three Wichita restaurants: at 21st and Greenwich, at 37th and Maize and at Maple and West Street.
The new store on East Central will have a drive-through plus indoor and outdoor seating. I’ll keep you posted on its progress.
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