Church's Chicken announces sale of 70 company-owned restaurants in Texas

New franchisee to acquire 70 existing Church's Chicken in Texas, existing franchisee to acquire 6 restaurants in Atlanta. Image: Church's Chicken, Twitter

ATLANTA -- Church's Chicken, the global franchisor of choice and one of the world's largest chicken restaurant brands, announced the sale of seventy (70) company-owned restaurants to a new franchise operator – Ampler Chicken LLC, and the sale of six (6) Atlanta-area restaurants to an existing franchise operator – Sal Kabiruddin of KSH Chicken Restaurants LLC. The sales achieve numerous goals, including accelerating the reimaging of existing locations, creating an expanded localized presence in two of the brand's most important areas, and expanding the Church's Chicken experience.

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"Texas is the birthplace of Church's Chicken, and our headquarters are in Atlanta. These are both critical territories," said Joe Christina, Chief Executive Officer for Church's. "These two areas offer future strategic growth opportunities for the brand in the year ahead.  Ampler Chicken is led by industry veterans with a successful track record overseeing the operations of thousands of restaurants. We're excited and confident that these franchisees will bring energy and enthusiasm to all teams involved."

New Vision. New Commitment.
The year ahead is expected to be one of renewed energy and dynamic movement for the 65-year-old Church's brand. In 2017, Church's made several changes to its executive leadership, agency structure, international growth strategy, and franchisee relationships.

"While the ownership of these restaurants is changing, our company values and dedication to exceptional taste, quality, and service continues and is more important than ever," Christina added. "Our goal is to create great Church's experiences guests love, and to more effectively produce fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide our organization. We are confident that this transition will give these restaurants new, meaningful opportunities to connect with guests and continue our 65-year tradition of excellence." 

Ampler Chicken LLC
Ampler Chicken will be the third-largest multi-unit Church's franchisee in the country, and the fourth-largest in the world. Ampler Chicken is sponsored by an investment firm with a permanent capital source and a long operating history in Texas. The group's leadership includes Steve Wiborg – a veteran of the industry with more than 30 years at the franchisee and executive level for global brands such as Burger King. He is respected for his hands-on management approach, forthright attitude, and goal-oriented decision making. Joining Wiborg on the leadership team is Mike Collins, a former Burger King franchisee of the year with considerable operational expertise. 

"All of us at Ampler Chicken are honored and excited about our partnership with one of the most respected restaurant brands in the world," said Wiborg. "We are committed to making these restaurants an extraordinary experience for guests and team members alike. Every Church's restaurant will provide a rewarding work environment for team members and a place for communities to enjoy excellent hospitality and delicious fried chicken."

Peak Franchise Capital acted as the advisor to Church's on the refranchising to Ampler Chicken.

Six Atlanta Restaurants
Six (6) Atlanta-area Church's restaurants, will be purchased by Sal Kabiruddin of KSH Chicken Restaurants, the owner of numerous Church's Restaurants in Orlando, FL. Under the leadership of Kabiruddin, the Orlando-area Church's experienced significant improvements in sales and satisfaction, which made him the right owner for the Atlanta restaurants.

"Quality food, excellent value, and superior speed-of-service is the secret to running a successful restaurant brand," said Kabiruddin. "Together with Church's we're proud that we have proven more than reliable in satisfying these requirements. We look forward to serving our guests in Atlanta with the same sense of community spirit and connection that we've delivered in Orlando."

SOURCE Church's Chicken