The first of its kind is coming to the greater Philadelphia area.
Franchisees Amanda Furiato, her fiancé Ryan Metz and brother Drew Christy are partnering to bring Chicken Salad Chick to Chester and Montgomery counties.
“We were looking for a new endeavor. We realized that everything’s been done. It’s hard to find something new that people want to spend their money on,” Furiato told What Now Philadelphia. “I was scrolling on TikTok mindlessly. My whole feed is women eating high-protein things in their car. Many were eating Chicken Salad Chick.”
Intrigued and influenced, Furiato set out to try the eatery, only to discover the closest location was two and a half hours away in Maryland. That’s when the idea clicked: it was something different that wasn’t already in the greater Philadelphia area, prompting Furiato to inquire about franchising.
“We drove down to Maryland and we ate the chicken salad and it was as delicious as we thought it was going to be and we were hooked. We decided to go for it,” she said.
The trio secured a six location deal and are “so close” to their first lease being signed.
They are still in search of the other five locations however the ideal spot is a 2,500 square foot space with a lot of foot traffic. They’re looking in areas like Collegeville, West Chester, Exton and Plymouth Meeting.
“We’re targeting areas that have a strong daytime population and it’s easy for people to go on their lunch break or maybe go after school. I think it’s a flexible concept and can work in a lot of different places. We’d love to be near universities or hospitals, but we’re targeting to start in shopping centers,” Furiato said.
All upcoming locations will feature the brand’s signature color palette, including key lime green and bright red. Furiato said each restaurant will also showcase local artwork to help connect with the surrounding community.
Furiato and Metz are no strangers to franchising, owning several AFC Urgent Care locations. While their background is in the health care space, Furiato said they see parallels they hope to carry over into the restaurant space.
“It’ll be nice to have both ends of the spectrum. We got into urgent care because we want to help people. On the other hand, feeding people is a passion of ours, making sure people are happy and have a good experience. We want to be a part of the community, so there’s a lot of commonalities,” she said.
Chicken Salad Chick was founded in 2008 by Stacy and Kevin Brown in Auburn, Alabama. What began as a shared love for chicken salad evolved into a growing fast-casual brand as the Browns refined their recipes and expanded the concept. Today, Chicken Salad Chick is recognized as the nation’s only fast-casual restaurant dedicated exclusively to freshly made chicken salad.
The menu centers on scratch-made chicken salad in a variety of flavors, from classic and savory to fruity and spicy, served as scoops, sandwiches or take-home portions. The lineup also includes deli-style sandwiches, soups and garden salads, along with Southern-style sides such as pasta salad, grape salad and macaroni and cheese.
“Classic Carol is a staple chicken salad flavor that they make. They also have different flavor combinations and it makes it really fun to keep coming back and trying them,” she said. “They have a seasonal Jill Pickle, which is probably my favorite of all time. It’s diced dill pickles mixed into chicken salad and it is everything you want it to be.”
Other standout flavors include Barbie-Q, Buffalo Barclay, Cranberry Kelli, Dixie Chick, Fancy Nancy, Fruity Fran, Jalapeño Holly, Kickin’ Kay Lynne, Lauryn’s Lemon Basil, Olivia’s Old South and Sassy Scotty.
Furiato looks forward to bringing Chicken Salad Chick to the greater Philadelphia area.
“We’re really excited to be the first. The fact that we found this thing that doesn’t exist and we’re going to bring something new to the community is really the biggest rush. It’s also a proud moment because this is family, I’m doing this with my fiance and brother,” she said.
The goal is to open the first location before the end of the year. Visit the Chicken Salad Chick website and follow along on Instagram and Facebook for the latest updates.
