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Chicken chain eyes Albuquerque for expansion
The Nashville-style chicken brand is aiming to land in the Duke City in 12 to 18 months
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Albuquerque is among 11 markets that the Nashville-style chicken chain Angry Chickz is eyeing for expansion.
The chain recently signed a 25-unit development agreement that will bring Angry Chickz’s hot fried chicken and mac and cheese to cities in Texas and New Mexico over the next five years, according to a December news release. Albuquerque is the only New Mexico city included in the franchise deal, which is the brand’s largest development deal to date.
“This is a major step for us,” Mike LaRue, Angry Chickz’s vice president of franchise development, said in a statement. “We’ve been hearing from fans in Texas and New Mexico for years asking us to come to their community, and now we’ve found the right partners to make it happen.”
The franchisee does not wish to be named, an Angry Chickz spokesperson wrote in an email.
Based in California, Angry Chickz opened its first restaurant in 2018 and has since grown to 33 locations across California, Nevada and Arizona. The first of the new 25 Angry Chickz locations is slated to open this year, though it is not clear in which city or state.
It’s also unclear how many Angry Chickz restaurants Albuquerque could be getting as part of the deal, but the chain expects to make its Albuquerque debut in 12 to 18 months, the spokesperson said.
“Albuquerque offers strong unit economics, a value-driven dining culture, and less fast-casual saturation which make it a smart, scalable market expansion,” the spokesperson said.
The chain has not determined potential locations for Albuquerque and is actively looking for real estate, the spokesperson said.
Kylie Garcia covers retail and real estate for the Journal. You can reach her at kgarcia@abqjournal.com.
