Chicken Salad Chick

“And that list quickly grew to over a hundred people that wanted franchises.”

“So the first thing we did that was smart was we primarily serve lunch. So we're not going to be there at four o'clock in the morning Preparing breakfast, and we're not going to be there at two o'clock in the morning closing down a bar.”

“Now, today, Chicken Salad Chick is one of the fastest growing restaurant chains in America.”

“And so at age 38, Kevin was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer, and it had metastasized to his liver.”

“So we have 85 locations now.”

“And then people start coming. And a line forms, the line goes out the door, down the sidewalk, and we sell out in two hours.”

“They said this woman is cooking chicken salad out of her home, which was illegal.”

“It was a pound. [788] Guy Raz: A pound, ok, and how much were you selling it for? [789] Stacy Brown: I think it was eight dollars”

“Through the revenue of the first restaurant.”

“So we opened January seventh of 2008 and we were making money by 2009.”

“1.3 million. And keep in mind that at this point, we didn't have a single franchise open.”

“This was a business that only needed to make 500 dollars a month to make ends meet, is now making seventy five million dollars a year.”

“So if I could come up with a really good recipe, I could just make it from home, and I could sell it door to door. Then I could be with the kids, just like I'd always been. And maybe it's gonna be enough to make ends meet.”

“And we decided to partner on paper, so I was 51%, he was 49, and we were gonna open up a little takeout spot.”

“They wanted 51% of the business. And Kevin was, you know, completely no. That's not going to happen. But, you know, I rationalized it out by saying, we really didn't have plans of getting into the franchising business, and so our exit strategy is probably goin…”

“And they said, here's our price, which was three times the amount that they had purchased four months earlier. And not only is this is our price, but you have 30 days to get it to us. How much were they asking for? 1.3. 1.3 million.”

“The one thing that raises heads of the students are when I say remember about what you're capable of when your passion is involved, because this was a business that only needed to make 500 dollars a month to make ends meet is now making seventy five million do…”

“And Kevin's phone rang, and one of the gentlemen in that meeting, his name was Erlen McCorder, and he said, can you two come back to the restaurant? And we said, sure, and we whipped the car around. We get back to the restaurant, and we sit in a booth with thi…”

“And we decided to partner on paper, so I was 51%, he was 49, and we were gonna open up a little takeout spot.”

“So we opened January seventh of 2008, and we were making money by 2009.”

“So we have 85 locations now.”

“The gateway to communities are hairstylists and teachers. If you can get a good product in the mouths of hairstylists and teachers, you will be connected to every family in town.”

“Now, today, Chicken Salad Chick is one of the fastest growing restaurant chains in America.”