Texas Footprint Expands
Chicken Salad Chick will open its newest fast casual location in Kyle, Texas on August 19, marking the second unit debut for franchisee group OberRoc LLC within a roughly ten-week window. The Kyle restaurant, situated at the Amberwood Retail Center at 19037 I-35, adds drive-thru capability and full off-premise service — including third-party delivery and catering — to the brand's growing Texas portfolio.
The opening brings OberRoc's total unit count to six restaurants across the greater San Antonio corridor, including locations in New Braunfels, Stone Oak, Roadrunner, Westover Hills, and Boerne, which debuted in early June 2026. Kyle represents the group's first location in the Austin metro area, extending the franchisee's area development agreement beyond its established San Antonio base. Business partners James Oberg, Jeff Rochelle, George Shaw, and Rosemarie Acerra have indicated plans to add additional units in the San Antonio market in coming years.
Franchisee Strategy
"The Kyle opening follows the group's recent and successful debut in Boerne, and they have ambitious development plans ahead," said Scott Deviney, CEO and president of Chicken Salad Chick. "Texas remains a key growth state for us." The OberRoc model reflects a broader franchisee consolidation trend in fast casual, where experienced multi-unit operators accelerate unit growth by clustering development around proven trade areas before extending into adjacent markets. For Chicken Salad Chick — which has grown to more than 340 restaurants across 25 states — Texas represents one of its highest-density expansion corridors, driven largely by area developers with existing operational infrastructure.
Jeff Rochelle, co-owner of the Kyle restaurant, noted that the city's distinct identity was a deliberate target. "Kyle is such a fun and unique city, and we believe residents here will embrace what we have to offer," he said. The Kyle market, one of the fastest-growing suburbs in the Austin-Round Rock MSA, fits the brand's pattern of entering high-growth suburban corridors underserved by polished fast casual concepts.
Grand Opening Mechanics
The August 19 grand opening will deploy a traffic-driving promotional structure common in franchise openings: the first 100 guests in line — who must download the Chicken Salad Chick app and make a qualifying purchase — will receive free chicken salad for a year, either weekly or monthly depending on queue position. Grand opening week promotions run through Saturday, August 22, with merchandise giveaways tied to qualifying meal purchases on subsequent days. The app-based redemption mechanic doubles as a loyalty acquisition play, a tactic increasingly favored by fast casual operators managing digital engagement alongside unit-level throughput.
The Kyle unit will operate Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Community giving is also part of the brand's opening playbook: pre-opening Friends & Family events will direct fundraising proceeds to CHRISTUS Children's Hospital in San Antonio, consistent with the brand's CSC Foundation, which supports CURE Childhood Cancer and local food banks system-wide.
For franchisee-focused operators tracking fast casual unit growth trends or franchise development strategies, the OberRoc expansion illustrates how experienced multi-unit operators can accelerate a brand's regional density without corporate capital deployment — a hallmark of the asset-light franchise model Chicken Salad Chick has built across the Southeast and Sun Belt.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
