Houston Tx Hot Chicken Taps Slim Chickens’ Brian Simowitz as New President

Simowitz has spent the last 18 years on the franchise support side of the restaurant industry. Most recently, he served as Vice President of Operations for Slim Chickens, where he was responsible for both corporate and franchise growth. Prior to that, he spent eight years on Applebee’s international team growing and supporting the brand in numerous countries. Additionally, he and his wife, Kelly, were owners of several restaurant brands in Minnesota.

Founded in 2021 by Edmond Barseghian — who is HHC’s Chief Marketing Officer — the brand currently has locations across eight states. In 2023, it entered into a strategic growth partnership with Savory Fund, a Utah-based private equity firm that invests into emerging restaurant concepts.

"Brian is a phenomenal talent and an incredible addition to the HHC team,” said Andrew K. Smith, managing director of Savory Fund. “He is adept at both corporate and franchise growth, and he will be able to take this electrifying brand to the next level."

Known for its hot chicken sandwiches, tenders, salads, soup, waffle shakes, and loaded fries, the unique eatery has seven signature sauces ranging from “No Spice” to “Honey Butter,” to “Liftoff” to “Houston, We Have a Problem!” It has catered to both authenticity and commercial appeal, which has heat-seekers all over the map making HHC a dining destination.