Renowned Dallas Chef Launches Kitchen Wise Franchise in Frisco, Texas

The name Chad Kelley is synonymous with the Dallas food scene, but now the renowned chef is stepping outside of the restaurant industry and into the kitchen-remodeling business with Kitchen Wise, the fast-growing cabinet, pantry and bathroom organization home service franchise backed by multi-brand franchisor Premium Service Brands. 

The Road to Kitchen Wise

Since 2006, Kelley has been helping restaurants across the nation grow, including Oceanaire, Meddlesome Moth, Cafe Pacific, Barley & Board and Earl’s 377. Kelley helped launch several restaurants, develop menus and websites and was even recognized by D Magazine for his award-winning burgers two years in a row. 

When COVID-19 hit, Kelley and his wife took a step back and realized life in the restaurant business was no longer sustainable for their family. “My wife has a successful career in architecture and has supported me throughout my entire career as a chef, so I decided to take a step back and help her while spending more time with our kids,” he said.

Kelley began reaching out to franchise coaches and chatting with people in the industry to truly find his niche. 

“Franchising spoke to us because it’s a business-in-a-box concept,” said Kelley. “I’ve started restaurants myself, and I knew the hard work and headaches that come with starting something from scratch. Franchising provides you with more resources, and I didn’t want to recreate the wheel.”

After discovering Kitchen Wise and researching the concept, Kelley knew he had found his match.

What Sets Kitchen Wise Apart

Kitchen Wise is part of the Premium Service Brands family of home service brands, which means the franchise benefits from a range of support systems and resources designed to make franchisees as successful as possible. Those resources include marketing, technology, recruiting, vendor partnerships, product sourcing, routing and scheduling software, a contact center and a range of other essential operational systems that allow franchisees to focus on what matters most — servicing the customer. 

“I’ve been stuck in a kitchen for the past 26 years and haven’t had the chance to be face-to-face with people,” Kelley said. “I knew I could become passionate about going into people’s kitchens and talking with them about solutions. I felt comfortable with the opportunity, and customers can see the genuine excitement I have for my new role.” 

Now, Kelley is confident that the Frisco, Texas area is perfect for Kitchen Wise. “I ran the idea by my friends all around the country to get their thoughts, and they all said they would love this service themselves,” he said. “The positive feedback I received helped me feel secure and excited about the opportunity. There’s also a ton of growth potential because of all the new construction happening as more people move to the Texas area and tackle home renovations. Instead of spending $20,000 on a remodel, we’re the more cost-efficient option for our clients.”

Kitchens are the most popular rooms for home renovations, according to The National Association of Realtors, but a traditional rehab is out of many Americans’ price range. Kitchen Wise solves that problem by providing strategic upgrades that transform kitchens without any construction or demolition, dramatically reducing the cost of upgrades. That approach has made Kitchen Wise one of the most sought-out opportunities in the industry, especially as homeowners spend more time considering renovation projects due to the pandemic. 

Future Growth for Kitchen Wise

Kelley’s first Kitchen Wise location officially opened on February 1, and he says he has no plans of slowing down now. “We’re going to be aggressive in growing Kitchen Wise,” he said. “We’re not putting this on cruise control. My end goal with this is to live life on my own terms because we haven’t been able to do that since I’ve been bogged down with restaurants. We want to build something up that will allow us to become less involved with the day-to-day operations so we can focus on growing our business.”

In addition to franchising with Kitchen Wise, Kelley also plans on launching Chef Made Home, which will be a website that offers virtual cooking classes and recipes. Kelley says Kitchen Wise and Chef Made Home will feed off of each other while allowing him to stay involved in the Dallas food scene.

That’s not all — Kelley is also interested in leveraging Premium Service Brands’ multi-brand roster and potentially bringing other concepts like Renew Crew and Maid Right to the area. This would allow Kelley to scale his businesses and grow vertically in his market through cross-promotion and customer retention. To encourage this strategy, Premium Service Brands is offering franchisees a $10,000 discount on the franchise fee when they sign on to open multiple brands in their market through their HomeOne franchise program.

“We are thrilled to be growing in Texas and are confident that Chad Kelley will be the perfect addition to the Premium Service Brands team,” said Chief Development Officer Iric Wexler. “Chad's unique and impressive experience in the kitchen will be an incredible asset to his new business and help grow the Kitchen Wise name in Texas and beyond.”

Now, Kitchen Wise is actively seeking qualified franchisees like Kelley in markets across Texas, with a particular focus on San Antonio and the surrounding suburbs. With over fifteen locations sold and a goal to add 20 to 25 new franchisees each year, Kitchen Wise is gearing up for continued growth across the country.

The initial investment to open a Kitchen Wise ranges from $101,875 to $144,000. This includes a $60,000 franchise fee. The brand is actively seeking franchise owners in Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Phoenix, San Antonio, Boston and Raleigh, to name a few. For more information on franchising with Kitchen Wise, please visit https://www.premiumservicebrands.com/kitchen-wise/.