Fast-Casual Restaurant Franchise Chick’nCone Enters the NFT World

Fast-casual restaurant concept Chick’nCone has announced its entrance into the NFT space. Famous for its crispy, hand-cut chicken tenders served in waffle cones, the brand’s new NFTs — dubbed Chick'nCoins — are now available for purchase at a price of $14,500 each, or approximately 5.5 Ethereum.

Here’s how it works: New owners of a Chick'nCoin will be assigned a geographic area in the United States and receive 50% of the $45,000 initial franchise fee for any new locations to open in that area. They will also earn a 2% royalty on sales at all locations within the area, which will be divided into equal portions among the number of tokens issued for that area and will be paid monthly.

"We couldn't help but notice all of the buzz and excitement surrounding the NFT space right now," Jonathan Almanzar, Chick'nCone’s co-founder and CEO, said in a statement. "A forward-thinking spirit is what has really propelled our brand thus far, and we were confident that if we established an NFT program of our own, it would successfully take off. We are extremely excited to go in the direction we are headed and can't wait to hear what people have to say about the opportunities that our new Chick'nCoin has to offer."

According to Restaurant Business , Chick’nCone hopes to sell more than 900 Chick'nCoin, and the coins are doled out randomly. So if a person buys a coin and Chick’nCone later sells or opens a restaurant in the region, that person gets $22,500 — half of the restaurant’s $45,000 franchise fee. But there’s a chance Chick’nCone will never sell or open a restaurant in that region. In that case, Chick’nCone gets $14,500, and the coin holder gets nothing.

Big risk? Maybe. But the budding chicken brand may be one worth betting on.

Chick'nCone made a name for itself with its Instagrammable offering of chicken and waffles served in a cone and grew its business to 24 locations since opening in 2014 largely due to its simplicity and franchise-ready business model. Now, the brand hopes this new NFT offering helps set it apart in the fast-casual industry while helping fuel its growth.

With McDonald’s having filed a trademark for a restaurant in the Metaverse and Chick’nCone getting into the NFT game, there’s no telling what’s next in the restaurant industry, real or virtual.