The man who brought Subway to Kansas has moved on to chicken sandwiches
.jpg "Chick N Max is expanding its footprint in Wichita and in the rest of the state.")
A well-known Wichita restaurant developer has just signed on to a new deal that will result in 25 new Chick N Max restaurants in Kansas over the next 10 years.
And five to seven of those 25 restaurants are earmarked for the Wichita metro area.
Rusty Rathbun, best known for bringing the Subway franchise to Kansas in 1987, recently committed to the development deal with Chick N Max, a fast-casual chicken concept developed by Max Sheets in 2017.
As of now, Wichita has three company-owned Chick N Max restaurants — at 3520 N. Maize Road, 352 S. West St. and 5510 E. Central. But Rathbun is committed to adding the additional restaurants to the Wichita area. Some of them he may own himself, he said. But he’s in the process of looking for franchisees not only for the Wichita restaurants but also to open restaurants in towns like Dodge City, Hutchinson, Lawrence, Manhattan, Salina and Topeka.
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Rathbun said that he retired from Subway in September 2020 after 33 years with the company and was bought out of his contract. He’d started doing restaurant consulting work, he said, but about a year ago, he was in search of a good chicken sandwich and went to the Chick N Max at 37th and Maize.
He ordered the Loaded Bama sandwich, made with fried tenders and topped with a white barbecue sauce, coleslaw and dill pickles.
“I took one bite, and the manager saw the look on my face and said, ‘Are you all right?’” Rathbun said. “And I said, ‘Oh my gosh, this is a great sandwich.’”
He had a similar experience at the restaurant on West Street a few weeks later, he said, and he left his business card with the manager. By December of last year, Rathbun and Sheets had committed to the deal.
Rathbun said he’s already identified three properties in Wichita where he thinks Chick N Max stores would do well. Either he’ll open them, he said, or he’ll find a franchisee to open them. He said he’s not ready yet to share the exact locations.
He’s also looking at spots in Derby for a restaurant, he said.
Chick N Max announced in early 2021 its plans to start franchising the restaurant concept, and by November of last year, it’d signed an agreement with a franchisee in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, who is working on a “three-pack” of restaurants for that city.
In March, Sheets opened a new company-owned Chick N Max with a drive-through at 5510 E. Central, which was intended as a replacement for the drive-through-free restaurant that closed in early 2022 and 2530 N Greenwich.
In addition to his work with Subway, Rathbun also has in the past been a part of the Twin Peaks and Mooyah Burgers, Fries & Shakes franchises in Wichita.
This story was originally published April 21, 2022 at 12:49 PM.
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