Layne’s Chicken Fingers Shows Serious Momentum Heading Into Q4

Layne’s Chicken Fingers is seeing exceptional growth. The brand sold 60 franchises in the last 16 months and is well on its way to having locations across the nation by 2025. So far, the year has seen some big wins for the company, with a major multi-unit deal signed and 3 locations coming in Q4, including the first restaurant outside Layne’s home state of Texas.

The emerging quick-service brand has restaurants in Morgantown, West Virginia;

Denton, Texas; and Houston, Texas that are currently under construction and will be opening by the end of the year. More will be coming later to the Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston and Pittsburgh areas, and other multi-unit deals are in the works as well.

Expanding into new states and markets like West Virginia and Pennsylvania is a significant step for Layne’s Chicken Fingers. The brand has been around since 1994, offering its delectable Soon To Be Famous™ chicken fingers and fries alongside amazing sauce options. But as the company has grown, territories in Texas are quickly filling up, and Layne’s is ready to grow its footprint to other parts of the US.

Sales growth momentum

And as the franchise enters Q4, it has been hitting all its KPIs. Despite labor and food cost issues, business has been great, and Layne’s has kept its customer base interested.

“Our sales have had a double-digit increase over last year system-wide, and traffic is at a double-digit increase as well,” said Samir Wattar, chief operating officer. “That's kind of bucking the norm in business right now; most companies report less traffic. But not at Layne’s because we have been focused on driving sales and building our name organically within the community.”

Menu item success

A few new additions to the menu have proven to be very profitable for the brand: the creamy gravy has been a hit, with 10 to 15% of transactions adding it on, and the spicy chicken has been a widely popular item.

The company is also working on launching a loyalty app. Layne’s has identified the vendor and tested it in restaurants and will be launching it system-wide in the next few weeks.

Founded in 1994 in College Station, the original location became a Texas A&M legend known for its small-town charm, friendly service, iconic chicken fingers and secret sauce. While opening corporate locations across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the leadership team focused on fine-tuning its operations and starting to franchise. Now, the company is planning to bring Layne’s Soon to be Famous™ Chicken Fingers to the rest of the world with plans to open 100 locations by the next four years.