Born and Breaded in Texas: Why Texas Is the #1 Growth Market for Layne's Chicken

Layne’s Chicken Fingers, the Soon to be Famous™ fried chicken concept, is prioritizing its home state of Texas for franchise growth, looking to have 20 open Texas units in the next year as it pursues the 200-unit mark in the state alone. Founded in 1994, the concept built a cult following of sorts in College Station, Texas, with Texas A&M students choosing Layne’s as their go-to lunch stop, alumni coming by on football game days and even people getting married in Layne’s shirts. Now, as the love for Layne’s only continues to grow in the state, the franchisor is honing its expansion focus in on West Texas (Abilene, Lubbock, Odessa and Middleton) and the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

“Texas is a huge state… There’s capacity for between 200 and 300 restaurants in the state,” explained Samir Wattar, COO at Layne’s. “Within the next year, we’d like to have 20 units open and operational. Once we hit that 50-unit mark, the growth will be even more aggressive because our franchisees will be looking to expand.”

By unit count, Layne’s is still an emerging brand, but that has not stopped the franchisor from building a high-powered corporate team. With a real estate and development team, marketing and training leads, director of operations, COO and CEO, Layne’s has built a strong foundation that can easily be expanded as the franchise system grows. 

For every 25 additional restaurants, for example, Wattar envisions an additional operations expert joining the corporate team.

As it continues to evolve, Layne’s Texas-based franchisees are already seeing the value of expanding in the state. A franchisee in Houston opened his first restaurant in 2021, opened a second in late January and has plans to open two more by the end of the year.

“By the end of 2023, he will essentially be doubling in size,” Wattar said. “He has two open, and another two are already in development.”

Layne’s loyal Texas following has been a key driver of the brand’s growth, and its ability to continue to cater to evolving tastes, without compromising the heart of the brand, has made it stand out even further.

“Our chicken tenders are already really great, but with us adding the spicy option and gravy for dipping, we fit with even more consumers,” he explained. “White gravy as a dipping sauce for chicken is a huge deal in Texas, so we decided to roll it out about 90 days ago.”

Wattar went on to explain that various Texas locations see a spike in spicy chicken orders, and others are seeing increased demand for gravy. Regardless, though, the customer has a choice every time they order.

“We have competitors right across the street from us, and our locations are still performing very well,” he said. “We’re offering flavors and customizations that aren’t available at other concepts while maintaining the Layne’s quality that everyone knows and loves.”

A key component of the brand’s Texas growth efforts will be its more flexible approach to real estate. The brand has long prioritized two main points of interest in the development process: “Are we protecting the brand?” and “Will the franchisee be profitable?”

“We’re not going to agree to a site where rent is so high the franchisee will have a hard time making money,” Wattar said. “Real estate is tough in DFW and expensive in Houston, and our flexibility is what’s making it work. We’re not the brand that has one prototype that every store has to fit within. Take the Houston drive-thru-only store for example… The tunnel was a storage space for the franchisee, and we worked with him to make a really cool drive-thru. Now look at it; that location is performing great.”

To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/layneschickenfingers/info.