---
title: "Wendy’s Franchisee Signs 12-Unit Deal to Expand Layne’s Chicken Fingers in Texas"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/a4f2f698-89d0-4832-8b22-b6db46102f57
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/layneschickenfingers/wendys-franchisee-expands-with-laynes-chicken-fingers-texas-2729742
category: "Restaurants"
industry: "Restaurants"
topics: ["Development & multi-unit"]
published: 2025-07-03T20:15:03.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T00:53:42.999Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/1751307616_2729742.png
---

# Wendy’s Franchisee Signs 12-Unit Deal to Expand Layne’s Chicken Fingers in Texas

**TL;DR:** Wendy's franchisee Ricki Oberoi has signed a 12-unit deal to expand Layne's Chicken Fingers in Texas. Oberoi, who has nearly three decades of experience with Wendy's, was impressed by Layne's product quality and decided to diversify his business.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2025-07-03. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/layneschickenfingers/wendys-franchisee-expands-with-laynes-chicken-fingers-texas-2729742).*

## Story

After nearly three decades with Wendy’s, Ricki Oberoi is branching out with Layne’s Chicken Fingers, the rapidly growing chicken finger franchise. Oberoi steadily grew with Wendy’s through both organic expansion and acquisitions before he began considering diversification.

“We were searching for other products and a brand that would be compatible with Wendy’s and allow us to operate two brands,” Oberoi said. “I came across Layne’s after I fell asleep on my sofa watching TV. My youngest son woke me up and said, ‘Try this.’ I was half asleep, but I ate it. The next morning I said, ‘That was really good! What was it?’ When he told me it was Layne’s, I knew I had seen them around town and heard that they were Soon to be FamousTM.”

Oberoi says he was “fascinated by the product,” especially impressed by the quality of the chicken and the fact that the fries weren’t mealy, and decided to reach out to the corporate team.

The decision was quick. After speaking more with the leadership team, learning about Layne’s key differentiators — like its spicy offering and halal chicken — and conducting multiple independent tests of local Layne’s, Oberoi was confident in his choice. He signed a 12-unit development agreement within 90 days of first trying Layne’s.

“I’m most excited about Layne’s tenacity and desire to grow,” he said. “Chicken is a big protein with consumers — even more than beef now — so there’s a lot of opportunity. The focus on quality is important, and the simplicity of the operations is great.”

Now, Oberoi is working to secure real estate for his first restaurant in the Rio Grande Valley area, with plans to open mid-2026.

“As we’ve continued our quick expansion, identifying partners in the remaining markets in our home state has remained a focus point,” said Layne’s Chief Operating Officer Samir Wattar. “However, we knew we needed to find the right people. Ricki is a strong operator who shares our vision for the future of the brand, and we’re excited to have him representing Layne’s in the Valley.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- unit expansion (topic)
- texas (location)
- Wendy's (company)
- Layne's Chicken Fingers (company)
- Samir Wattar (person)
- Rio Grande Valley (location)
- brand diversification (topic)
- franchisee deal (topic)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/layneschickenfingers/wendys-franchisee-expands-with-laynes-chicken-fingers-texas-2729742). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/a4f2f698-89d0-4832-8b22-b6db46102f57).