---
title: "The City Wire: Friends, now business partners, find success with Slim Chickens"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/410468ee-ef88-4a4c-ade8-909c71d4d239
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/the-city-wire-friends-now-business-partners-find-success-with-slim-chickens-2166
category: "Chicken"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Chicken"
published: 2015-08-04T19:14:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T22:34:28.920Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/8d777f385d3dfec8815d20f7496026dc4498.png
---

# The City Wire: Friends, now business partners, find success with Slim Chickens

**TL;DR:** Tom Gordon and Greg Smart, friends since age 16, founded Slim Chickens in 2003 and have expanded to 23 locations across the US. The brand plans to open more locations, with franchising as the next wave of growth.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2015-08-04. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/the-city-wire-friends-now-business-partners-find-success-with-slim-chickens-2166).*

## Story

Tom Gordon and Greg Smart have been friends since they met in their hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas, when they were 16 years old. From a young age, they both knew what they wanted to do with their lives. Those plans shifted and they became the founders of the popular “better chicken” fast casual franchise, Slim Chickens.

The first Slim Chickens opened in 2003 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.“It was a concept we felt was a need in this market,” Smart, chief marketing officer for Slim Chickens, told The City Wire. Today, the Slim Chickens' brand has 23 locations and nine more planned this year, extending from Lubbock, Texas, to Lincoln, Nebraska, and Tennessee.

to Cincinnati, Ohio.“Franchising is the next wave of our growth,” Smart told The City Wire. Two corporate stores are expected to open this year.

In 2016, six corporate locations are expected to open and an additional 20 to 25 franchise stores. Slim Chickens looks for large scale developers and target those who are interested in opening five to 18 stores.“We’re growing very fast,” Smart old The City Wire.

“We’re the largest restaurant franchiser and the fastest growing chain in Arkansas. We’re glad to be based in Arkansas. It’s a good success story for us,” Gordon said.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- unit expansion (topic)
- franchising (topic)
- fast casual (topic)
- Slim Chickens (company)
- restaurant growth (topic)
- Arkansas (location)
- Tom Gordon (person)
- Fayetteville, Arkansas (location)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/the-city-wire-friends-now-business-partners-find-success-with-slim-chickens-2166). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/410468ee-ef88-4a4c-ade8-909c71d4d239).