--- title: "Urban Bird serves up hot Q3" url: https://burnaze.com/article/f5a26165-6368-4a78-824c-0174de1771ec source: "Franchise Magazine USA" original_url: https://franchisemagazineusa.com/urban-bird-serves-up-hot-q3/ author: "Andrew Carlo" category: "Chicken" industry: "Restaurants" segment: "Chicken" published: 2026-10-21T01:35:13.000Z modified: 2026-10-31T21:42:12.093Z image: https://franchisemagazineusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Urbran-Bird-Location-2.png --- # Urban Bird serves up hot Q3 **TL;DR:** Urban Bird Hot Chicken reported solid growth in its third quarter, with new franchise and corporate expansion efforts, including a three-unit development agreement in Wichita, Kansas, and a two-unit agreement in the greater Houston market. The company also expanded its corporate footprint through openings in Houston and San Antonio. *By Andrew Carlo, originally published in Franchise Magazine USA on 2026-10-21. [Read the original](https://franchisemagazineusa.com/urban-bird-serves-up-hot-q3/).* ## Key facts - Urban Bird reports solid Q3 growth - New franchise agreements in Wichita and Houston - Urban Bird University introduced for management education ## Story Urban Bird Hot Chicken, featuring made-to-order halal hot chicken, is reporting solid growth moves for its third quarter. During the period, the Houston, Texas-based fast casual concept said it completed successful franchise and corporate expansion efforts. On the franchise front, Urban Bird is branching out with a new three-unit development agreement in Wichita, Kansas, as well as a two-unit agreement in the greater Houston market. ## Franchise expansion efforts “The third quarter represented a significant milestone as Urban Bird began converting its franchise development pipeline into formal franchise partnerships,” said Stephen O’Connor, CEO of Urban Bird. “These relationships represent an important first step in expanding Urban Bird beyond its corporate restaurant base. Equally encouraging has been the caliber of prospective franchise partners entering our pipeline.” Urban Bird expanded its corporate footprint through openings at the NRG Stadium market in Houston and the Potranco area of San Antonio. The company said it also strengthened its position in Austin, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, and San Antonio. Additional openings are planned for Houston’s Montrose neighborhood and The Rim/La Cantera area of San Antonio, the company said. “The third quarter has been an exciting period of growth and organizational development for Urban Bird,” O’Connor said. “We have continued expanding our restaurant presence across Texas while simultaneously investing in the infrastructure necessary to support a much larger organization. What makes this period particularly significant is that we are not simply adding restaurants. We are evolving the business from a successful regional restaurant concept into a scalable, professionally managed franchise platform.” As the brand continues to expand its restaurant base, it continues to improve its in-house methodology. ## Operational improvements Urban Bird University (UBU) was introduced, featuring a structured management and leadership education platform with a 12-month curriculum. Other moves include standardizing new restaurant opening processes with a focus on planning, staffing, training, and certification. This initiative features the development of an “Elite New Store Opening Training Team” to ensure new restaurants launch with consistent operational standards. “This has actually been one of the most important areas of progress,” O’Connor said. “We have undertaken a broad initiative to strengthen the operational and leadership infrastructure of the company. These programs represent a deliberate investment in our people and our operating systems.” Regarding new franchisees, O’Connor said, “We are attracting experienced restaurant operators and business professionals who recognize the potential of the brand and are interested in developing multiple locations. Our philosophy is straightforward: the quality of our franchise partners is more important than the speed at which we sign agreements.” ## Brand history and goals Urban Bird was launched in 2020 and founded by seasoned multi-unit operators Brandon Gawthorp and Chantel Fiaschetti. Rather than rush into a franchise frenzy, the brand was self-tested through the development of nearly 30 company-owned restaurants. This allowed Urban Brand to refine its operating procedures, real estate strategies and restaurant economics across different markets, the company said. “Our longer-term ambition is to build Urban Bird into a nationally recognized restaurant brand with a meaningful international presence,” O’Connor said. “That said, we do not view growth simply as a race to open restaurants. Our objective is to build a business that can scale successfully while protecting the quality of the food, the guest experience, the economics of the restaurants and the integrity of the brand.” ## Entities - QSR (sector) - franchise expansion (topic) - Franchise Magazine USA (publication) - houston (location) - Andrew Carlo (person) - restaurant growth (topic) - Wichita, Kansas (location) - San Antonio, Texas (location) - Urban Bird Hot Chicken (company) - Brandon Gawthorp (person) - Chantel Fiaschetti (person) - corporate expansion (topic) --- Originally reported by Andrew Carlo, Franchise Magazine USA (https://franchisemagazineusa.com/urban-bird-serves-up-hot-q3/). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/f5a26165-6368-4a78-824c-0174de1771ec).