Church's Texas Chicken facts for kids
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A Church’s location in Tallahassee, Florida
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Trade name
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Church's Chicken or Texas Chicken or Church's Texas Chicken |
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| Private | |
| Industry | Food Franchising |
| Founded | April 17, 1952 in San Antonio, Texas |
| Founder | George W. Church Sr. |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
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Number of locations
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1,700+ (2017) |
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Areas served
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United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Belarus, Bahrain, Cambodia, Guyana, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Laos, Malaysia, New Zealand, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Vietnam, United Arab Emirates, Honduras |
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Key people
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Joseph Guith (CEO) Tim Waddell (EVP, International) Natalia Franco (CMO, Global) Roland Gonzalez (COO, North America) Danton Nolan (CFO) Craig Prusher (CLO) Karen Viera (CPO) |
| Products | Fast food, most known for its fried chicken, honey-butter biscuits and jalapenos. |
| Revenue |  US$ 1.3 billion (2022) US$ 1.2 billion (2019) |
| Owner | High Bluff Capital Partners (United States) South America Restaurants Corporation (Honduras, Puerto Rico and Venezuela) |
Church's Texas Chicken is a popular American fast food restaurant chain. It's famous for its fried chicken and is based in Atlanta, Georgia. The first restaurant, called Church's Fried Chicken To-Go, was started by George W. Church Sr. in April 1952. It opened in San Antonio, Texas, right across from The Alamo!
Around the world, you might know it as Texas Chicken or just Church's Chicken. A company called High Bluff Capital Partners owns the chain. By 2017, Church's Texas Chicken had over 1,700 restaurants. These locations were either owned by the company or run by franchisees in 26 different countries.
Contents
The Story of Church's Texas Chicken
In 1952, George W. Church Sr. opened his first restaurant. He used to sell machines that helped hatch chickens. His new restaurant was called Church's Fried Chicken To-Go. It was in San Antonio, Texas.
At first, it was a small place where you could walk up and order. They only sold fried chicken. You could get two pieces of chicken and a roll for just 49 cents! In 1955, they added fries and jalapeños to the menu. Mr. Church designed the kitchen so customers could watch their food being made.
Growing the Business
When George W. Church Sr. passed away in 1956, the company had four restaurants. His family took over the business. By 1962, with his son Bill Church Jr. in charge, there were eight restaurants in San Antonio.
To help the company grow, Bill Church Jr. and his brother Richard created a special chicken marinade in 1965. This marinade could be prepared at any restaurant. A man named J. David Bamberger joined the company to help them start selling franchises. Franchising means letting other people open restaurants using the Church's name and recipes.
In 1967, Church's Chicken opened restaurants in five more cities in Texas. By 1968, they had 17 restaurants.
Becoming a National Chain
In 1968, the Church family sold the company. It became a public company in 1969, which means its shares could be bought and sold by anyone. By the end of 1968, there were over 100 Church's Chicken restaurants. They were in seven different states. This made Church's the first fast food chain from Texas to become national. Between 1969 and 1974, the company added 387 more restaurants!
In March 1996, Hala Moddelmog became the president of Church's Chicken. She was the first woman to be president of a fast food restaurant chain.
Expanding Around the World
Church's Chicken started opening restaurants in other countries in the 1970s. They went to Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Puerto Rico. In the 1980s, it became very popular in Indonesia. There, it was called "Texas Chicken." The name was changed because "Church" was not as well-known in countries where most people are not Christian. Later, restaurants in Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, and the Philippines also opened as "Texas Chicken."
In 2017, Church's Chicken made a deal to open 20 new restaurants each year. These new locations would be in Florida, Kentucky, Ohio, Colorado, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
As of 2022, Church's Texas Chicken had more than 1,500 locations worldwide. You can find them in many countries, including Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
New Owners Over the Years
In 1989, another chicken restaurant chain called Popeyes bought Church's Chicken. This made Church's the second-largest chicken restaurant chain.
Later, in 1993, the company that owned both Church's Chicken and Popeyes changed its name to AFC Enterprises, Inc.
In 2004, a company called Arcapita bought Church's Chicken. Because Arcapita follows certain principles, they removed pork products from the Church's Chicken menu in 2005.
In August 2009, a company called Friedman Fleischer & Lowe bought Church's Chicken. Then, in August 2021, Church's Chicken was bought by Rego Restaurant Group. This group also owns other restaurant chains like Quiznos.
Sharing Restaurant Space
In the 1990s, Church's Chicken sometimes shared restaurant space with the hamburger chain White Castle. Both companies sold their own food, but they operated in the same building. In Canada, Church's Chicken items were once sold in Harvey's restaurants, but this partnership ended.
- Church's Texas Chicken restaurants
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A Church's Texas Chicken in Detroit
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A Church's Texas Chicken in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
What's on the Menu?
Church's Texas Chicken offers many kinds of fried chicken. They also have classic side dishes and desserts. Their menu includes chicken tenders and boneless wings.
Other popular items are Spicy Chicken, Chicken Tenders, and Boneless Wings. For sides, you can get mashed potatoes with gravy, fried okra, coleslaw, corn on the cob, and jalapeño peppers. For dessert, they have honey butter biscuits and apple pie. During certain times of the year, Church's Texas Chicken also offers a seafood menu. This includes shrimp and crispy fish.
Since 1952, Church's Texas Chicken restaurants have served drinks from The Coca-Cola Company. In 2008, they agreed to continue this partnership.
Helping the Community
Church's Partners Foundation, Inc. is a charity organization. It helps employees of Church's Chicken restaurants, their families, and their communities. The foundation gives $1,000 scholarships to high school students in America. This is part of their Church's Scholars Program. In the 2018–2019 school year, they gave out over $227,000 in scholarships!
Church's Chicken has also worked with No Kid Hungry since 2016. This organization helps make sure children have enough to eat.
Important Events
Restaurant Closures in Oklahoma
In 2015, 15 Church's Chicken restaurants in Oklahoma were closed. This happened because the company that owned them had not paid over $400,000 in sales taxes.
Computer Security Issue
In 2019, Church's Chicken looked into a problem with their payment systems. Information might have been stolen from customers. At least 160 company-owned restaurants in 11 states were affected.
During the COVID-19 Pandemic
When the COVID-19 pandemic started, most Church's Chicken restaurants closed their dining rooms. They continued to offer drive-thru, takeout, and delivery services.
In March 2020, the company announced a plan to help its franchisees. Franchisees could delay paying half of their fees for four weeks.
See also
- List of fast-food chicken restaurants
