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Chicken Salad Chick to open second Albuquerque location at Winrock
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Uptown chicken salad lovers can officially rejoice, as fast casual restaurant chain Chicken Salad Chick is getting ready to open its second Albuquerque location at Winrock Town Center this week.
The chain — known for its wide selection of made-from-scratch chicken salad flavors, side salads, soups, sandwiches and desserts — will open the restaurant on Tuesday. The first 100 guests in line at 10 a.m. will win free chicken salad for a year.
“This project has been in the works for some time,” said Jennifer Sanchez, franchise owner of Chicken Salad Chick in Albuquerque. “We started talks with Goodman (Realty) Group about three years ago and just had to wait for the right location on the plaza. I believe we have found it.”
The 2,800-square-foot restaurant is located on the west end of the center, near BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse and Red Robin. The location will employ 42 people and can seat nearly 80 customers inside and around 56 people on its 500-square-foot outdoor patio, according to Sanchez. It will also offer catering and fundraising opportunities, she said.
Albuquerque welcomed its first Chicken Salad Chick restaurant on the city’s West Side at 10621 Unser NW in April 2024.
Sanchez and her partner, Keith Murray, brought the chain to Albuquerque, Sanchez’s hometown, after three years of her working as a franchise business consultant for Chicken Salad Chick.
Sanchez primarily served franchisees in the Florida and St. Louis markets before deciding she wanted to become a franchisee herself, she said.
“We wanted to go to a community that was special to us; New Mexico is that place,” Sanchez said.
The community’s response to the West Side location has been “so positive,” Sanchez said, adding that the location regularly brings in customers from as far as Taos, Santa Fe, Grants, Los Lunas and Roswell.
“The community has been amazing. I was truly not prepared for the support we have received,” Sanchez said. “New Mexico has welcomed us with open arms.”
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No deals have been finalized, but the franchisees are actively pursuing more locations in Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Santa Fe and Los Lunas, Sanchez said.
