Frisco, Texas — Layne’s Chicken Fingers has signed a monumental 44-unit franchise agreement with Eli Cohen, an experienced real estate and restaurant developer, across its home state of Texas. Layne’s will expand across West Texas, San Antonio and the Coastal Bend. With this deal, the Texas market is now over 90% sold out, leaving room for expansion in just El Paso and a few smaller, single-unit territories.
“Sealing an over-40-unit deal in our home state is a major milestone for us as we approach 100% market saturation across Texas,” says CEO Garrett Reed. “And given our focus on real estate, the opportunity to pursue this expansion with a seasoned developer is even more meaningful.”
As part of the agreement, Cohen’s team plans to open multiple new Layne’s locations in its home base of Lubbock, Texas, next year — with two sites already confirmed and a potential third under consideration — marking a big first step in bringing Layne’s signature chicken fingers to markets across West Texas.
In addition to the deal with Cohen, which is the largest in the brand’s history, Layne’s has also recently executed a 12-unit deal with an experienced Wendy’s operator to develop the Rio Grande Valley, an eight-unit deal with a former water bottling entrepreneur to develop in The Big Country area in Texas, and a four-unit agreement with an experienced hospitality professional to grow the brand in South Fort Worth.
Layne’s momentum is also driven by recent successes with new restaurants. Year-to-date, the brand has opened new restaurants in Mission Bend, Tyler and Nacodoches, Texas, with the Nacodoches location breaking sales records in the first week. With five additional locations slated to open across Texas before the end of the year, Layne’s is not slowing down.
Founded in 1994 in College Station, Texas, 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. For more information, visit https://layneschickenfranchising.com/.
SOURCE Layne’s